Prevention and Care for HIV and Related Conditions
ANA Position Statement
Effective: 2019
Status: Position Statement
Written by: ANA Policy and Government Affairs
Adopted by: ANA Board of Directors
Purpose
ANA stands ready to support nurses engaged in emerging HIV/AIDS care and prevention strategies. The updated policy statements below express ANA’s positions on key public policies and approaches to practice, borrowing heavily from the sustained and thoughtful policy leadership of our partner Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC).
ANA is publishing these updated policy statements in order to:
- Guide nurse engagement in HIV/AIDS advocacy;
- Educate nurses and the public about the role of nursing in HIV/AIDS care and prevention; and
- Join ANA’s voice unequivocally with patients and partners across the country asserting the public health imperative to end HIV/AIDS and related conditions such as viral hepatitis.
Statement of ANA Position
ANA supports efforts to end the HIV epidemic, recognizing that nursing care is central to achieving HIV treatment and prevention goals. ANA’s updated policies recognize a treatment-as-prevention approach, and further support access to PEP and PrEP as a prevention strategy, as well as access to PEP when indicated for health care workers. ANA’s updated policies support use of evidence-based approaches appropriate to key target populations, and encourage nursing practice and leadership that promotes culturally competent, non-stigmatizing care. ANA further recognizes a significant role for APRNs with prescriptive authority in HIV treatment and prevention, and calls for full practice authority at the federal and state levels.