Health beliefs of midwives about HIV/AIDS protection and the barriers to reducing risk of infection

Purpose – Using a health belief model (HBM), this study aims to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Iranian midwives in relation to HIV/AIDS protection behavior and to determine the needs of interventional programs for promotion of the behavior among midwives of maternity care units.Design/methodology/approach – This was a cross‐sectional study in five selected hospitals in Isfahan. All 58 midwifery personnel of maternity wards of these hospitals participated in the study. Tools for data collection were a checklist to assess midwives' practice and a questionnaire to assess knowledge, attitude, and the HBM of midwives about HIV/AIDS‐protection methods.Findings – A total of 58 midwifery personnel with average working experience of 10.92±7.98 years were assessed in the study and with a high knowledge, positive attitude and moderate practice about HIV/AIDS protection methods. The midwives perceived two main barriers, which impacted on their self‐efficacy and their protection behavior. These barri...