Factors Affecting Cultural Competence in a Sample of Nursing Students during the Prolonged COVID-19 Pandemic in Republic of Korea: A Cross-Sectional Study

Globally, foreign citizens, particularly ethnic and racial minorities, experienced discrimination and received imbalanced medical services and insufficient economic resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to examine the factors that affect the cultural competence of nursing students. This is descriptive cross-sectional study adheres to Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. A convenience sample of 235 nursing students from two nursing colleges in D city completed an online Google Forms questionnaire from 9 August to 12 August 2022. The self-report questionnaire included a sociodemographic data form, a cultural intelligence scale, an ethnocentrism scale, a global competence scale, and a cultural competence scale. The mean score of cultural competence was 95.39 ± 15.64 (out of 135 points); cultural competence was significantly positively correlated with cultural intelligence and global competence (p < 0.001), and significantly negatively correlated with ethnocentrism (p < 0.001). The factors that significantly affected cultural competence were cultural intelligence (β = 0.31, p < 0.001) and global competence (β = 0.37, p < 0.001). The explanatory power of these effects was 47.3%. To improve the cultural competence of nursing students, it is necessary to develop, apply, and evaluate the results of curriculum and programs that can enhance the cultural intelligence and global competence of nursing students.