Nurses stigmatization of sufferers of sexually transmitted diseases: implications for treatment options in delta state of Nigeria

Abstract

This study’s objective is to assess nurses’ stigmatization of sufferers of sexual transmitted diseases and its implications on treatment options. The study’s method was the survey research through structured questionnaire and interview technique for selected sample of students and nurses. The multistage random sampling technique was used to select 573 nurses and 2150 students, from Delta state owned medical facilities and tertiary educational institutions respectively. The participants had varied demographic characteristics, with all of them possessing at least the West African Secondary School Certificate. The mean age for the respondents was 36.61 years and 20.19 years for nurses and students respectively. The data generated with the questionnaires were statistically analyzed using the chisquare test. The results show that nurses stigmatizes sufferers of sexually transmitted diseases. Secondly, this stigma does encourage student’s sufferers of sexually transmitted diseases to seek alternative medical treatment options outside orthodox medical practices. It was concluded that, nurses practice their medical professionalism by understanding, sympathizing and empathizing with sufferers. This will encourage sufferers to choose from treatment options without bias.

Keywords: Nigeria, Nurses, Sexually transmitted disease, stigma, students, treatment options