Undergraduate Nursing Student Self-Efficacy in Patient Education in a Context-Based Learning Program

Educating patients is one recognized strategy to reduce health risks and costs associated with illness and hospitalization. Context-based learning (CBL) has been advocated in nursing education due to its identified advantages, such as students' increased self-confidence. The aim of this comparative, quasi-experimental study was to examine the influence of CBL on undergraduate nursing student self-efficacy in patient education. Twenty-two first-year and 36 third-year nursing students completed the Health Promotion Disease Prevention Inventory examining smoking, exercise, and nutrition. The results show a statistically significant difference between first-year and third-year students in the smoking domain. Third-year students displayed more efficacy related to knowledge about smoking than did first-year students. Both first-year and third-year students indicated that receiving factual information on risk factors was the most helpful source of self-efficacy information. The finding supports the notion that CBL is effective in developing students' self-efficacy.