Factors influencing nursing students’ participatory behaviour during COVID-19

BACKGROUND: Because nursing students are important human resources for future public health, their participatory behaviours related to preventive health during a pandemic were explored. AIM: This study examines the impact of nursing students’ risk communication, anxiety, and their perception of risk on their participatory behaviour during COVID-19. METHODS: Data were collected from 180 South Korean nursing students in six provinces via an online survey and were analysed using independent t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression. The SPSS WIN 25.0 program was employed. FINDINGS: Perceiving information to influence oneself was a significant predictor of each participatory behaviour. Risk communication was not identified as a factor influencing health-related participatory behaviour. However, the influence of information is a concept derived from risk communication. DISCUSSION: Risk communication for behaviour change needs to be designed so that communication targets recognise the impact of risk. Promoting pro-social behaviour in the nursing curriculum is important because it will make the students more sensitive to information that can have a dangerous impact on others. CONCLUSION: It is important to create health-related risk communications by considering the perspective of perception of influence.