First-generation college students seeking a degree in nursing: An integrative review

As a key step in addressing social determinants of health and improving healthcare equity in the United States, nursing education has been called to focus on recruiting and supporting students from underrepresented backgrounds. First-generation college students, who often come from underrepresented backgrounds in nursing, comprise nearly half of all college students and are at high risk of leaving academic programs. To better understand this group of students, this review examined research on first-generation college students pursuing. The Whittemore and Knafl integrative review methodology was employed to conduct a structured search across CINAHL, ERIC, and PubMed databases. To be included in this review, articles had to have followed a research design, be written in English, and pertain to first-generation college students pursuing a degree in nursing. Thirteen articles were identified as meeting criteria for this review. Themes across these studies were that first-generation nursing students were more likely to be older, non-White, have a military background, and face significant academic challenges when compared to their non first-generation peers. Themes related to barriers and facilitators to academic success were also identified, along with a need for further research into the outcomes and experiences of this group of nursing students.