There are two long-term objectives of the proposed research. The first objective is the development of a model on which to base educational programs to assist health care workers in overcoming their fear of occupational HIV infection. The second objective is to explore the usefulness of a new inductive method in the conduct of health services research of complex social psychological phenomena.
The specific aims, then, are twofold.
The first aim of the study is the generation of a model from data collected to answer the following research questions: 1) How do health care workers successfully manage their fear of HIV infection? 2) What specific strategies are used? 3) What factors or conditions are necessary? The investigators will use the grounded theory methodology (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) to generate the model. Interview data will be collected from health care workers/respondents and subject to the constant comparative method of data analysis. This systematic technique of analytic induction will be used to partition, compare, and theoretically code the data, eventually delimiting analysis to a core category explaining the majority of behavioral variation and the conditions (factors) necessary to the discovered process. The study's second objective will be met by overseeing the proceedings of model development. Throughout the (primary) inquiry, an independent group of expert evaluators will monitor the research process. As the secondary aim of the study, the Evaluation Group for Analysis of Data (EGAD) will produce a report as to its findings as to the persuasiveness of the evidence, the objectivity of the investigators, the credibility of the generated model, etc. In addition, EGAD will recommend specific directions for further research. The investigators will continue a research program in development and testing of educational models for health care workers caring for persons with AIDS.
