DEVELOPING GUIDELINES FOR MANAGING A NURSING WORKFORCE INFECTED WITH HIV AND TB IN SOUTH AFRICAN HOSPITALS

Abstract

Workplace sickness and poor work attendance are simple to manage, unlike incapacity leave and ill health, which involve complicated processes in the management of the employees’ illness. Managing incapacity leave and ill health results in nurse managers having to source many documents to obtain the information they need. The study’s purpose was to create guidelines to support nurse managers in managing an ill nursing workforce. A qualitative, ethnographic study was used to develop the guidelines. Four (4) purposively selected public sector hospitals were visited and the four (4) nurse managers planning work placement for each hospital were participants. Data were collected using participant observation, in-depth interviews, field notes and document analysis of statutes and policies around poor work attendance and employment. Interviews were transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Guidelines for managing a nursing workforce infected with HIV and/or TB (Kerr, Brysiewicz & Bhengu, 2014:166) are the result of this study. The rationale for developing the guidelines was to collate information on the management of HIV- and/or TB-infected nurses into a single document. These guidelines can be used in clinical practice by nurse managers and included in the nursing education curricula. They could be considered for use by other services within the public sector of South Africa.