Nurse Educ Pract. 2021 Oct;56:103193. doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103193. Epub 2021 Sep 04.
Exploring the effect of two different teaching strategies on first-year nursing students' understanding of nutritional concepts: A mixed-method approach.
Nurse education in practice
Sergio Yuste, Jagoba Zarandona, Marta Arrue, Leyre Gravina
Affiliations
Affiliations
- Basque Nurse Education Research Group, Osakidetza Basque Health Service, School of Nursing, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), C/ Jose Atxotegi s/n, 01009 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; Bioaraba Health Research Institute, c/ Isabel Orbe s/n, 01002 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Basque Nurse Education Research Group, Osakidetza Basque Health Service, School of Nursing, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), C/ Jose Atxotegi s/n, 01009 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; Bioaraba Health Research Institute, c/ Isabel Orbe s/n, 01002 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Bioaraba Health Research Institute, c/ Isabel Orbe s/n, 01002 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; Basque Nurse Education Research Group, Department of Nursing II, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Paseo Begiristain, 105, 20014 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain. Electronic address: [email protected].
- Basque Nurse Education Research Group, Department of Nursing I, Faculty of Medicine and Nursing, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Bº Sarriena s/n, 48940 Leioa, Spain; Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Cruces Plaza, 48903 Barakaldo, Spain. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 34536788
DOI: 10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103193
Abstract
AIM: The aim of the study was twofold. First, to explore understanding difficulties in nutritional concepts among nursing students and second, to analyse the effect of two teaching strategies on the level of understanding.
BACKGROUND: Previous studies have pointed out the need to improve the nutritional care education offered to undergraduates in health sciences. As nurses play a crucial role in lifestyle counselling and nutrition assessment, it is essential to identify the learning difficulties that can impair their learning capacity and the more effective teaching strategy in the nutrition area during the nursing degree.
DESIGN: A pretest-posttest study was conducted with a mixed-method conversion design.
METHODS: 146 first-year-nursing students were included. Two teaching methods, debate-based learning and lecture-based learning were used for instruction on the effect of macronutrient intake on an individual's state of health. Each group completed two open-ended questions before and after the intervention. Firstly, phenomenographic analysis was performed to identify the learning categories representing variations in students' understanding. Secondly, qualitative data were quantised and statistically analysed to address differences in learning improvement.
RESULTS: More than 40% of students struggled with the idea that proteins are associated with weight gain independently of the teaching strategy applied. In the first evaluation question, the debate-based learning teaching method improved students' learning, achieving higher levels of understanding (p < 0.05). In the second evaluation question, no significant differences were found between the two groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Areas of problematic knowledge in nutrition education have been identified for the first time that will allow nurse educators to design research-based teaching strategies. Further studies are necessary not only on how to address these misconceptions in nursing students, but also to investigate how nurse educators can contribute to deeper levels of student learning.
Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Learning; Nurses; Nursing students nutrition; Teaching
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