Internationalization at home program significantly increases the self-efficacy of nursing students: A pre-post study

Abstract

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Background Internationalization at home strategies seek to achieve a more inclusive and equitable higher education. Evidence about the impact of these strategies on students' self-efficacy is still scarce, even though this psychological construct is essential for the performance and well-being of nursing students. The Global Nursing Care program was designed to provide nursing students with an internationalization at home experience, combining a virtual exchange and international clinical simulation.

Aim To determine the impact of the Global Nursing Care program on nursing students' self-efficacy. Design A quasi-experimental, analytic, and longitudinal study was conducted. Settings and participants: The virtual module was carried out online, and the international simulations were developed in the Simulation Centers of the San Juan de Dios School of Nursing and Physiotherapy (Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Spain) and the West Coast University (USA). Seventy students participated in the program and 57 completed the pre-post questionnaire.

Methods Data were collected using an online survey that included a sociodemographic questionnaire and the General Self-efficacy Scale. IBM's SPSS (version 28.0.1.1) was used to analyze data. Differences between self-efficacy levels were measured before and after the program, and according to sociodemographic characteristics.

Results General self-efficacy was significantly augmented following program participation (pre-intervention: mean = 32.39, SD = 3.87; post-intervention: mean = 34.44, SD = 3.86; p < 0.001). No differences based on nationality, previous international academic experience or academic year were found. Conclusions An internationalization at home program based on virtual exchange and simulation improves nursing students' general self-efficacy. Future research can explore to what extent this effect persists over time.