Nursing Students' Perceptions of Their Own Caring Behaviors: A Multicountry Study

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify perceptions of caring behaviors in student nurses from four countries.

Methods: This study employed a descriptive, comparative survey design. Four hundred sixty-seven students were recruited from four countries (Nigeria, India, Greece, and the Philippines) to participate in the study during the months of September 2013 to January 2014. Data were collected using the Caring Behavior Inventory.

Findings: The highest ranked subscale was "assurance of human presence" (4.827 ± 0.927), while "positive connectedness" (4.610 ± 0.949) was the lowest ranked subscale. There were no statistically significant correlations between the Caring Behavior Inventory scale and gender (F = 0.215, p = .643), educational level (F = 0.396, p = .529), and family structure of students (F = 0.680, p = .410), except for age (F = 9.380, p = .002, η² = 0.141) and the country of origin (F = 5.772, p = .001, η² = 0.036).

Conclusion: Students from four countries possess positive caring behaviors, specifically on physically based caring interventions, while there is a need to emphasize expressive caring behaviors during nursing education and training.

Implication for nursing practice: Caring interventions should be carried out in order to help students build or enhance their caring behaviors that can be adapted to clinical situations.

Keywords: CBI; caring; caring behavior; nursing education; student nurse.