Preparing for Patient-Centered Care: Assessing Nursing Student Knowledge, Comfort, and Cultural Competence Toward the Latino Population

• Published in: The Journal of nursing education Vol. 53; no. 6; pp. 305 - 312
• Main Authors: Mayo, Rachel M, Sherrill, Windsor W, Truong, Khoa D, Nichols, Christina M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States SLACK INCORPORATED 01.06.2014
• Subjects: Adult; Attitudes; Belief & doubt; Cancer; Clinical Competence - statistics & numerical data; Competence; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cultural Awareness; Cultural Background; Cultural competence; Cultural Competency; Cultural Education; Cultural Pluralism; Curricula; Disproportionate Representation; Educational Attainment; Educational Strategies; Ethnicity; Female; Health disparities; Health Needs; Health Services; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic or Latino; Humanities Instruction; Humans; Immersion Programs; Instructional Effectiveness; Male; Minority & ethnic groups; Minority Groups; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Negative Attitudes; Nurse patient relationships; Nurses; Nursing care; Nursing education; Nursing Education Research; Nursing Evaluation Research; Nursing Students; Patient-Centered Care - organization & administration; Patients; Population growth; Self Efficacy; Southeastern United States; Student Attitudes; Students; Students, Nursing - psychology; Students, Nursing - statistics & numerical data; Study abroad; Teacher Effectiveness; Teaching Methods; Transcultural Nursing - education; Young Adult; Southeastern United States; United States > US; South Carolina
• ISSN: 0148-4834; 1938-2421
• DOI: 10.3928/01484834-20140428-01

As the Latino population continues to grow throughout the United States, cultural competence training of nursing students at the baccalaureate level has become a priority. This study aimed to explore undergraduate nursing students’ attitudes and beliefs toward Latino patients and their perceived readiness to provide care to Latino patients. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at four major nursing schools in the southeastern United States, which is the region that has seen the highest percentage of growth in the Latino population. Results from multivariable regression suggest that social interaction with Latino individuals and cultural immersion in a Spanish-speaking country predict student knowledge, cultural competence, and comfort with Latino patients. Direct influence by nursing programs, such as clinical experience, coursework, and language proficiency, are positively associated with the designed outcomes, but these relationships are not statistically significant. Our findings suggest that dosage of training matters. Implications for student recruitment, selection, and training are discussed. [As the Latino population continues to grow throughout the United States, cultural competence training of nursing students at the baccalaureate level has become a priority. This study aimed to explore undergraduate nursing students’ attitudes and beliefs toward Latino patients and their perceived readiness to provide care to Latino patients. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at four major nursing schools in the southeastern United States, which is the region that has seen the highest percentage of growth in the Latino population. Results from multivariable regression suggest that social interaction with Latino individuals and cultural immersion in a Spanish-speaking country predict student knowledge, cultural competence, and comfort with Latino patients. Direct influence by nursing programs, such as clinical experience, coursework, and language proficiency, are positively associated with the designed outcomes, but these relationships are not statistically significant. Our findings suggest that dosage of training matters. Implications for student recruitment, selection, and training are discussed. [ J Nurs Educ. 2014;53(6):305–312.]