Baccalaureate Nursing Students' Attitudes of Prejudice: A Qualitative Inquiry.

Abstract

Attitudes of prejudice in nursing students have the potential to impact patient care and ultimately may contribute to culturally based health disparities. The purpose of this study was to describe attitudes of prejudice reported by baccalaureate nursing students. Baccalaureate nursing students were recruited through Web networking and e-mailing. Participants responded to a Web-based survey that contained an open-ended item requesting them to describe a time when they held an attitude of prejudice. Qualitative data were coded and analyzed for themes. The majority of participants (N = 50) were women (86%) and White (68%). Qualitative data analysis revealed two major themes: Prejudice Against Obese Individuals, and Prejudice Against Someone of Another Race. Many of the participants had insight that prejudice was wrong and they wanted to change. Acknowledging prejudice, as an explicit bias, is an important step toward cultural competence. Teaching strategies focused on addressing explicit and implicit bias are warranted. [J Nurs Educ. 2016;55(6):345-348.].