2021 Volume 10 Issue 2 Pages 26-33
Objective: This study aimed to identify the timing and events that sparked nursing students’ interest in global health. Furthermore, it aimed to detect the relationship between helping norms and interest in global health, the proportion of students willing to participate in global health activities, and the factors that prevented them from participating.
Method: An anonymous questionnaire was administered to nursing students. Respondents were asked about their grade, helping norms, interest in global health, the timing of inspiration, the event that sparked their interest, their willingness to participate, and the factors related to it.
Results: Students in the later years of their coursework were significantly less interested in global health than the early-year students. The helping norms of interested students were significantly higher than those of uninterested students. Interested students who were not willing to participate were significantly less confident in their ability to communicate in a foreign language than were willing students. Many students indicated that they became interested in global health when they were in high school, or their interest was triggered later by television programs or movies about developing countries as well as listening to stories of someone who had experience in global health activities.
Discussion: To stimulate the interest of nursing students in global health, it is important to cultivate stronger helping norms in students; provide information, such as the required foreign language level; and expose students to stories and experiences shared by global health workers.
