Reducing Medication Math Anxiety of Prelicensure Nursing Students Using Social Media Tutorials: A Feasibility Study.

Abstract

First-semester prelicensure nursing students commonly report experiencing math anxiety that negatively affects academic performance and triggers fear of causing patient harm. Students often turn to social media platforms to supplement their learning experience. To explore the feasibility of using Instagram tutorials to reduce math anxiety of first-semester prelicensure nursing students. A quasi-experimental descriptive survey design was used to evaluate the utility of posting supplemental math tutorials on Instagram and examined the effect of tutorials on math anxiety levels. A convenience sample of 20 students used the tutorials. Math anxiety levels were evaluated using the Single-Item Math Anxiety Scale. A statistically significant inverse relationship was observed between math anxiety levels and tutorial use. The Instagram platform was familiar to students and simple to access. Brief tutorials appealed to audio-visual learners. Using Instagram-based tutorials is feasible and appears effective in reducing medication math anxiety.