Oral Healthcare Knowledge, Attitudes, Confidence and Learning Experiences Among Chinese Nursing Students: A...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Oral Healthcare
• Public Health

Background:

• Oral diseases present a significant global health burden.
• Nursing students frequently receive insufficient education in oral healthcare, impacting their future practice.
• This gap necessitates an exploration of current educational strategies and student perceptions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate nursing students' knowledge, attitudes, and confidence regarding oral healthcare.
• To explore nursing students' learning experiences in oral health education.
• To identify factors influencing students' oral healthcare attitudes and confidence.

Main Methods:

• A sequential mixed-methods study involving 454 nursing students across three universities in China.
• Quantitative data collected via questionnaires and analyzed using logistic regression.
• Qualitative data gathered through in-depth interviews with 21 purposively selected students, analyzed using phenomenology and thematic analysis.

Main Results:

• Over half of the nursing students (52.86%) showed suboptimal oral healthcare attitudes and confidence.
• Positive attitudes and confidence were linked to academic year, passion for nursing, self-assessed oral health, and interest in oral healthcare.
• Qualitative findings revealed key themes in learning pathways, needs, prospects, and the influence on attitude and confidence.

Conclusions:

• Nursing students' oral healthcare attitudes and confidence are suboptimal and influenced by various factors.
• Educational interventions should address learning barriers and incorporate practice-oriented content to enhance competence.
• Further research is needed to evaluate the long-term clinical impact of improved oral healthcare pedagogy in nursing programs.