Australian student nurse's knowledge of and attitudes toward primary health care: A cross-sectional study

Sandra Mackey; Cannas Kwok; Judith Anderson; Deborah Hatcher; Sharon Laver; Cathy Dickson; Lyn Stewart

doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2017.10.003

Australian student nurse's knowledge of and attitudes toward primary health care: A cross-sectional study

Nurse Educ Today. 2018 Jan:60:127-132. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2017.10.003. Epub 2017 Oct 24.

Authors

Sandra Mackey¹, Cannas Kwok², Judith Anderson³, Deborah Hatcher⁴, Sharon Laver⁵, Cathy Dickson⁶, Lyn Stewart⁷

Affiliations

¹ School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: s.mackey@westernsydney.edu.au.
² School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: c.kwok@westernsydney.edu.au.
³ School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst Campus, Bathurst, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: juanderson@csu.edu.au.
⁴ School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: d.hatcher@westernsydney.edu.au.
⁵ School of Nursing, Midwifery and Indigenous Health, Charles Sturt University, Albury Wodonga Campus, Albury, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: slaver@csu.edu.au.
⁶ School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: C.dickson@westernsydney.edu.au.
⁷ School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: lyn.stewart@westernsydney.edu.au.

PMID: 29100077
DOI: 10.1016/j.nedt.2017.10.003

Abstract

Background: Nurses have a pivotal role in changing the focus of the health system toward a primary health care approach, yet little is known about the effectiveness of nursing students' educational preparation for this role.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate undergraduate Australian nursing students' knowledge of and attitudes toward the primary health care approach.

Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive research design was applied.

Setting: Two Australian universities, one with a rural base and one in the metropolitan area of Sydney, were involved. Both universities offer undergraduate and postgraduate nursing courses on multiple campuses.

Participants: A convenience sample of 286 undergraduate nursing students, each of whom had completed a unit of study on PHC. All provided consent to participate in the study.

Methods: Data was collected using the Primary Health Care Questionnaire via online survey platform SurveyMonkey for a period of three weeks in June 2015.

Results: Total knowledge scores ranged from 19.68 to 95.78 with the mean knowledge score being 69.19. Total attitude scores ranged from 33.12 to 93.88 with a mean score of 70.45. Comparison of knowledge scores showed mean scores of students born in Australia were significantly higher than those of students who were born overseas (p=0.01), and mean scores of students enrolled in the metropolitan university were also significantly higher than mean scores of students' enrolled in the rural university (p=0.002). In terms of attitudes scores, mean scores of Australian-born students were significantly higher than those of students born overseas (p=0.001), and older students' mean attitude scores were shown to be significantly higher than younger students' (p<0.005).

Conclusions: Student's age, country of origin and university location were shown to be significant influences on student's knowledge of and attitudes toward primary health care.

Keywords: Attitudes; Knowledge; Primary health care; Student nurse.

MeSH terms

Adult
Attitude of Health Personnel
Australia
Clinical Competence
Cross-Sectional Studies
Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Nurse's Role*
Primary Health Care / organization & administration*
Students, Nursing*
Surveys and Questionnaires