Personal values and attitudes toward people living with HIV among health care providers in Kazakhstan

Our study investigates the relationship between health care providers' personal value preferences and their attitudes toward people living with HIV (PLWH). The study was conducted among nurses (n=38) and physicians (n=87) working in HIV Centers in Kazakhstan. Significant relationships were found between the providers' personal value preferences and their attitudes toward PLWH: higher preferences for tradition and power values and lower preferences for benevolence values were associated with more negative attitudes toward PLWH. In addition, more years of experience working with PLWH was associated with more positive attitudes toward this population. Age, gender, family status, religiosity, occupation, and number of years working in health care were not related to the health care providers' attitudes toward PLWH. Theoretical and practical implications of the results obtained are discussed.