Abstract
M.A. (Industrial Sociology)
The study assesses the perceptions of nurses of HIV and AIDS occupational policies
in two Bulawayo Hospitals. The focus of the study was therefore the Zimbabwe
National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan (ZNSP), which constitutes the key HIV and
AIDS national and occupational policy for nurses at work. A qualitative approach and
phenomenological principles were adopted as a research design. These enabled
interviewees to talk freely about their perceptions of the HIV and AIDS policies. A
semi-structured questionnaire was used as a research tool and qualitative research
analysis, the study employed a thematic analysis method. To put the study into
perspective, Adler’s (2000) public service contributions were used as the theoretical
lens through which the research was conducted. Adler (2000) asserts that for public
services to function well there need to be co-ordinated agreements between the
government, management and employees, as the stakeholders in the public service.
The findings of the study provide insights into HIV and AIDS occupational policies in
the workplace. They give an overview of the epidemic and its impact on industrial
relations from a nurse’s point of view. The study gives nurses at work a voice that
was hitherto unheard in the reviewed literature. The study also validates claims made
in existing literature that nurses are more vulnerable to the disease than any other
worker. The study contributes to current information on industrial relations, regarding
the challenge of HIV and AIDS in the workplace and the plight of health workers who
are most exposed to this pandemic.