Community health nursing courses in baccalaureate nursing programs in China: A descriptive study based on website information

OBJECTIVE: To survey current community health nursing (CHN) courses offered in baccalaureate nursing programs in the mainland of China from the perspective on information available on websites of colleges and universities. METHODS: A descriptive research design was used. Data were collected from the official websites of colleges and universities providing baccalaureate nursing programs in the mainland of China. A checklist was applied to identify academic year, type of course, credit, and class hours for both theory and practice teaching of CHN courses including Community Nursing, Geriatric Nursing, Rehabilitation Nursing, and Health Education. The prescribed textbooks were consulted for teaching content. RESULTS: Colleges (n = 16) and universities (n = 26) offering baccalaureate nursing programs with accessible online information for curriculum setting were recruited. The results showed that most of the accessible educational institutions (92.86%) have offered three to four investigated CHN courses. Community Nursing, Geriatric Nursing and Rehabilitation Nursing are generally offered to juniors, while Health Education is offered in half of these institutions in different academic years. Community Nursing is mainly offered as a required course with 2 credits, while Geriatric Nursing, Rehabilitation Nursing and Health Education are provided as elective courses with fewer credits. Around half of the institutions have practice hours for Community Nursing, Geriatric Nursing and Rehabilitation Nursing courses. However, the proportion of practice hours in the courses is generally less than 50%. The teaching content focuses on clinical care competencies instead of complementary competencies. CONCLUSION: It was revealed that CHN education in China is still in its infancy from website information of colleges and universities. CHN courses should be included in curriculum design, and teaching reforms and innovations should be taken to prepare nursing students to practice in primary health care and community settings.