Evaluation of Cultural Awareness in Nursing Students in Antalya: A Descriptive–Analytic Study

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the cultural awareness levels and associated factors in students in Nursing Faculty. Methods: The research is a descriptive–analytic study type of study. The study participants consisted of third-grade (n = 256) and fourth-grade (n = 196) students enrolled at Akdeniz University Nursing Faculty. For collecting the research data, a “Student Information Form” and the “Cultural Awareness Scale (CAS)” were used. Results: It was found that 43.0% of the students lived in Antalya for more than 4 years and that those students’ cultural awareness means scores (172.49 ± 30.25) were above average. When the demographic factors related to students’ levels of cultural awareness were examined with logistic regression analysis, it was found that being in the fourth grade (odds ratio: 1.91) and living in Antalya for more than 5 years (odds ratio: 1.95) resulted in an increase in cultural awareness ( P < .05). Conclusion: It was determined that the cultural awareness of the students who took the public health nursing course that covered cultural awareness issues and who lived in Antalya for a long time increased. It was recommended that cultural awareness of students could be developed by adding cultural awareness to the nursing curriculum. The results of this study highlight the importance of assessing cultural awareness levels in order to increase students’ cultural awareness and ensure the satisfaction of individuals receiving nursing care. These results also suggest a future qualitative, longitudinal, mixed-method study to investigate and identify the specific and indirect causes that affect cultural awareness during nursing education.