Mathematics anxiety and its effect on drug dose calculation

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Mathematics anxiety is a common barrier for nursing students.
• Accurate drug dose calculation is a critical nursing skill.
• Previous studies suggest interventions can reduce math anxiety and improve calculation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of different teaching methods on mathematics anxiety in first-year nursing students.
• To assess the effect of teaching methods on the ability to accurately calculate fractional drug doses.
• To compare findings with previous research and provide recommendations.

Main Methods:

• Eighty first-year nursing students were randomly assigned to control and treatment groups.
• The study examined mathematics anxiety levels and arithmetic test performance.
• Data were analyzed to identify statistically significant differences between groups.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant differences were found between the control and treatment groups regarding mathematics anxiety.
• There were no statistically significant differences in arithmetic test performance between the groups.
• These results contrast with findings from prior investigations.

Conclusions:

• The teaching methods employed did not significantly impact mathematics anxiety or calculation accuracy in this cohort.
• Discrepancies with previous research warrant further investigation.
• Recommendations are provided for nursing education practice and future studies.