Psychological Wellbeing and Predictors of Early Help-Seeking Behaviours of International Students of Undergraduate Nursing Programs: A Scoping Review.

Background: Australian Universities are the principal providers of nurse education for international students. While researchers have recognised the important issue of poor psychological well-being among nursing students, few have explored the factors which impact international nursing students.

Aim: This review aimed to map the reported factors impacting psychological health, wellness and early help-seeking behaviours of international students enrolled in Bachelor of Nursing programmes.

Methods: A scoping review with a five-stage methodological framework to interpret and synthesise the available literature was utilised. The following databases were searched: CINAHL Complete, PsycINFO, MEDLINE, ERIC and Scopus for studies published in English from 2012 to 2022. Additional sources were also sought through a review of the references of included studies. Four studies met the inclusion criteria.

Results: Results revealed that all included studies were from Australia and utilised a quantitative approach. Factors impacting psychological health and wellbeing, as well as help-seeking behaviours included but were not limited to migrating alone, language spoken, marginalisation and the COVID-19 pandemic. Published literature on this topic is limited, with a notable absence from other countries.

Conclusion: This review highlights a gap in evidence concerning ways to support international nursing students.

Patient or public contribution: There were no patient or public contributions in the design, conduct, analysis or preparation of this manuscript.