Examination of nursing students' cultural awareness and intercultural sensitivity levels

Nursing students should have a certain level of cultural awareness and intercultural sensitivity while providing care to healthy/patient individuals from different cultures and communicating with their fellow students from different cultures and people they meet in different cultures abroad. In addition, if the cultural awareness and intercultural sensitivity levels of nursing students are determined from their student years, nursing education can be shaped accordingly. The aim of this study conducted in this direction is to determine the cultural awareness and intercultural sensitivity levels of nursing students. This descriptive study was conducted on 616 nursing students studying at Kırşehir Ahi Evran University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing. The data were collected using the Descriptive Characteristics Form, Intercultural Awareness Scale (IAS) and Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS). Before collecting the data, institutional permission, ethics committee permission and consent from the students were obtained from the institution where the study was conducted. The data were analyzed using number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, cronbach's alpha coefficient, Kolmogrow Smirnow and Shapiro Wilk test, t test in independent groups, One Way ANOVA and Pearson correlation analysis. As a result of the study, most of the students were female (66.4%), belonged to the nationality of the Republic of Turkey (93.5%), were in the first grade (31.7%), were between the ages of 21-25 (53.1%), were single (96.9%), had an income that covered their expenses (55%), lived in the Central Anatolia region for the longest time (43. 5%), lived in the city center (56.5%), did not know any foreign language other than Turkish (66.9%), had not been abroad (90.6%) and wanted to work abroad (60.4%). It was determined that most of the students knew the concept of intercultural nursing (74.3%), had foreign national friends (70.3%), had the desire to communicate with them (84.9%), had done an internship in any health institution (68.3%), communicated with foreign national patients during internships (81.7%) and had the desire to provide nursing care to them (73.4%). The cultural awareness level of the students participating in the study (33.42±4.90) was not very high, but it was above the middle level. It was found that women, those who belonged to the Republic of Turkey, senior students, younger students, divorced/separated individuals, those living in the Marmara region, those living in the district and those who wanted to work abroad had higher mean scores on the CFQ compared to other groups. Although the intercultural sensitivity level of the students in this study (84.14±8.00) was not very high, it was found to be above the middle level. The cultural sensitivity levels of females, students who belonged to the Republic of Turkey, seniors, older students, students with higher income, and students living in the district were higher than the others. It was determined that there was a positive relationship between students' cultural awareness and intercultural sensitivity. It was determined that as the students' cultural awareness levels increased, their intercultural sensitivity also increased. In this direction, students should be supported to benefit more from programs such as Mevlâna and Erasmus in order to ensure that students come together more with foreign students, work and make projects, and benefit more from programs such as Mevlâna and Erasmus in the curricula of nursing departments. In addition, students' cultural awareness and intercultural sensitivity levels should be measured at regular intervals, and qualitative and intervention studies can be conducted on this issue. Keywords: Cultural awareness, intercultural sensitivity, student nurse, culture.