Civic knowledge and self-reported political astuteness of academic nurse educators in the United States

Abstract

Background: A nurse's perspective is unique and invaluable to health policy. Although political astuteness is essential for nurses and nurse educators to be effective participants in health policy, there is a gap in the nursing literature on civic knowledge and its potential relationship to political astuteness.

Purpose: This research aimed to assess the civic knowledge and self-reported political astuteness of academic nurse educators, their associated factors, and the relationship between these two concepts.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used a national sample of academic nurse educators who answered 10 questions taken from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Naturalization test and completed the Political Astuteness Inventory (PAI).

Results: Over 51 % of the sample (n = 122) did not provide enough correct answers to pass the Naturalization test and over 35 % were determined to be either completely or slightly unaware politically. There was a medium positive correlation (r = 0.313, p < .001) between civic knowledge and self-reported political astuteness.

Conclusion: Although nurse educators could be well-positioned to impact health policy, they may not have the knowledge or skills to fulfill this potential. Strategies for improving political astuteness include increasing civic knowledge and encouraging professional collaboration to promote nursing solidarity, influence, and power.

Keywords: Civic knowledge; Health policy; Nurse educators; Political astuteness.