The effect of service-based learning on health education competencies of students in community health nursing internships

Aim This study investigated the impact of service-based learning on the health education competencies of students in community health nursing internships. community health nursing internship is one of the areas where students acquire health education competencies. Studies have shown that some students have poor health education competencies, and new educational interventions, such as service-based learning, can help improve their competencies. Method This quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2021-2022. The participants were final-year nursing students affiliated to Kerman University of Medical Sciences. All participants (n = 72) were selected via the census method and randomly divided into intervention and control groups (36 participants in each group). The students in the intervention group attended a service-based learning program for 20 days. The data were collected before and one month after intervention using a 48-item health education qualification questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS22 software. Results The results showed that the mean health education competencies scores were lower before intervention in the intervention and control group (165.75 +/- 23.09) (170.16 +/- 28.58)(p > 0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of their mean scores on health education competencies(p > 0.05). The health education competencies score increased significantly for the participants in the intervention group (191.58 +/- 28.35) compared to the control group (165.97 +/- 28.11) after intervention. Conclusion Nursing administrators and professors need to take effective steps to empower nursing students as much as possible and incorporate service-based learning techniques in clinical education programs for nursing students.