Factors Affecting Cultural Competency of Elementary School Nurses

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the cultural competency of elementary school nurses. Methods: Data were collected from a convenience sample of 109 school nurses who were recruited from elementary schools across three large cities in South Korea. The daata were analyzed with independent t-tests, a one-way ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. Results: School nurses who had experience caring for multicultural students showed a significant difference in the cultural competency (t=8.75, p=.004). Factors affecting their cultural competency were awareness of multicultural families (β=.17, p=.006) and transcultural self-efficacy (β=.69, p<.001), which explained 58.6% of the total variance. Conclusion: The findings suggest that it is necessary to provide more training and educational programs for school nurses to improve their awareness of multiculcural families, including interventions to enhance transcultural self-efficacy, in order to enhance their cultural competence and to help them provide tailored care for multicultural students with diverse cultural backgrounds.