Health-promoting resources and social study factors among students with and without foreign backgrounds in nursing and social work programs at six Swedish universities

Background Students with foreign backgrounds can face challenges in the study environment linked to language, cultural roles, norms, and ethnicity. It is important to increase knowledge about students’ own health-promoting resources and social study factors, to optimize a good study environment. Objective This study aimed to describe and investigate changes in health-promoting resources and social study factors in, respectively, the first and final semesters, for students with and without foreign backgrounds, in nursing and social work programs in Sweden. Methods The study had a repeated cross-sectional multicentre design at the group level. Students at six Swedish universities answered a web-based questionnaire in the first (n = 665) and final semester (n = 296) of nursing and social work programs. The questionnaire measured health-promoting resources (SOC-13; SHIS; OBQ), and social study factors (QPSNordic). Statistics were conducted through descriptive, correlation, and multiple linear regression analyses. Results At baseline, students with foreign backgrounds reported significantly lower health-promoting resources, including SOC total (p < .004), SHIS (p < .004), and social study factors (p < .004), compared to other students. By the final semester, disparities between the two groups persisted in two items of social study factors. In the final semester, students’ relationships and the value of group work predicted health-promoting resources for the entire student cohort. Conclusion Social relationships were central to health-promoting resources for Swedish nursing and social work students. The results indicated the value of targeted actions, in the study environment, especially among students with foreign backgrounds.