Evaluation of a caring education program for Taiwanese nursing students: A quasi-experiment with before and after comparison

Summary 

Background

Caring is an essential component in nursing curricula. However, how caring can be accomplished effectively has rarely been taught to nursing students.

Objectives

To examine acceptability and preliminary efficacy of a caring education program for nursing students in Taiwan.

Methods

Students were recruited to participate in a pre–post-test quasi-experimental study. Students self-selected into a control group (n=33) or an experimental group (n=35). The experimental group registered for a 13-week caring education program based on Watson’s 10 creative factors through multiple teaching strategies. The Caring Behaviors Assessment (CBA) was used to collect data at weeks 1 and 13. Content analysis was used to reach the main descriptions of caring education from an experimental group of nursing students.

Results

The experimental group reported a significantly higher score of caring behaviors after participating in the education program (t=3.4, p=.00). The score of each CBA subscale in the experimental group was significantly enhanced from week 1 to week 13, except in the existential/phenomenological/spiritual dimension. Qualitative results supported that a caring education could help nursing students by building caring behaviors which could be adapted to clinical situations.

Conclusions

The findings support the credibility of caring-focused teaching strategies and such focused caring programs are acceptable and show efficacy for nursing students.

Keywords: Caring education program, CBA, Nursing students, Watson’s theory