Intercultural sensitivity among nursing students: a latent profile analysis

Abstract Background Cultivating intercultural sensitivity is essential for achieving cultural competence. To provide quality nursing care, nurses must be aware of cultural factors, understand cultural differences, and demonstrate intercultural sensitivity. The status and influencing factors of inter...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: You-Ran Liu, Yan Wang, Tengfei Liang, Shumei Zhuang, Xi Wang, Jie Wang, Hui Xie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-08-01
Series:BMC Nursing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03659-9
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849333166917025792
author You-Ran Liu
Yan Wang
Tengfei Liang
Shumei Zhuang
Xi Wang
Jie Wang
Hui Xie
author_facet You-Ran Liu
Yan Wang
Tengfei Liang
Shumei Zhuang
Xi Wang
Jie Wang
Hui Xie
author_sort You-Ran Liu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Cultivating intercultural sensitivity is essential for achieving cultural competence. To provide quality nursing care, nurses must be aware of cultural factors, understand cultural differences, and demonstrate intercultural sensitivity. The status and influencing factors of intercultural sensitivity among nursing students are equally important and should not be overlooked. Previous studies on nursing students’ intercultural sensitivity have primarily focused on the overall level and its influencing factors, while neglecting heterogeneity in intercultural sensitivity. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the potential types of intercultural sensitivity and related variables among nursing students. Methods A total of 599 nursing students (mean age:20.24, 439 female) from Anhui Province, China, were recruited. Demographic information and intercultural sensitivity of nursing students were collected through an online survey using the " Questionnaire Star " website. The Intercultural Sensitivity Scale was employed to assess intercultural sensitivity. Latent profile analysis was performed to classify nursing students’ levels of intercultural sensitivity, and logistic regression was used to explore factors influencing different latent classes of intercultural sensitivity. Results Nursing students’ intercultural sensitivity was divided into three latent profiles: the “high intercultural sensitivity-moderate interaction enjoyment group” (N = 164), the “moderate intercultural sensitivity-low interaction enjoyment group” (N = 262), and the “low intercultural sensitivity-high interaction enjoyment group” (N = 173). Gender, grade, experience of international exchange, and English level were identified as influencing factors for the nursing students’ latent classes of intercultural sensitivity. Conclusions Nursing students demonstrated significant heterogeneity in intercultural sensitivity. Educators can identify the characteristics and influencing factors of each profile early on to provide tailored support strategies, thereby helping to improve students’ intercultural sensitivity. Clinical trial number Not applicable.
format Article
id doaj-art-2f8cf47e88ea43bbbb163137d98174db
institution Kabale University
issn 1472-6955
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series BMC Nursing
spelling doaj-art-2f8cf47e88ea43bbbb163137d98174db2025-08-20T03:45:57ZengBMCBMC Nursing1472-69552025-08-012411810.1186/s12912-025-03659-9Intercultural sensitivity among nursing students: a latent profile analysisYou-Ran Liu0Yan Wang1Tengfei Liang2Shumei Zhuang3Xi Wang4Jie Wang5Hui Xie6School of Nursing, Bengbu Medical UniversityDepartment of Nursing, Tangshan Vocational &Technical CollegeSchool of Nursing, Bengbu Medical UniversitySchool of Nursing, Tianjin Medical UniversitySchool of Nursing, Bengbu Medical UniversitySchool of Nursing, Bengbu Medical UniversitySchool of Nursing, Bengbu Medical UniversityAbstract Background Cultivating intercultural sensitivity is essential for achieving cultural competence. To provide quality nursing care, nurses must be aware of cultural factors, understand cultural differences, and demonstrate intercultural sensitivity. The status and influencing factors of intercultural sensitivity among nursing students are equally important and should not be overlooked. Previous studies on nursing students’ intercultural sensitivity have primarily focused on the overall level and its influencing factors, while neglecting heterogeneity in intercultural sensitivity. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the potential types of intercultural sensitivity and related variables among nursing students. Methods A total of 599 nursing students (mean age:20.24, 439 female) from Anhui Province, China, were recruited. Demographic information and intercultural sensitivity of nursing students were collected through an online survey using the " Questionnaire Star " website. The Intercultural Sensitivity Scale was employed to assess intercultural sensitivity. Latent profile analysis was performed to classify nursing students’ levels of intercultural sensitivity, and logistic regression was used to explore factors influencing different latent classes of intercultural sensitivity. Results Nursing students’ intercultural sensitivity was divided into three latent profiles: the “high intercultural sensitivity-moderate interaction enjoyment group” (N = 164), the “moderate intercultural sensitivity-low interaction enjoyment group” (N = 262), and the “low intercultural sensitivity-high interaction enjoyment group” (N = 173). Gender, grade, experience of international exchange, and English level were identified as influencing factors for the nursing students’ latent classes of intercultural sensitivity. Conclusions Nursing students demonstrated significant heterogeneity in intercultural sensitivity. Educators can identify the characteristics and influencing factors of each profile early on to provide tailored support strategies, thereby helping to improve students’ intercultural sensitivity. Clinical trial number Not applicable.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03659-9Intercultural sensitivityNursingStudentLatent profile analysisInfluencing factorsUndergraduate education
spellingShingle You-Ran Liu
Yan Wang
Tengfei Liang
Shumei Zhuang
Xi Wang
Jie Wang
Hui Xie
Intercultural sensitivity among nursing students: a latent profile analysis
BMC Nursing
Intercultural sensitivity
Nursing
Student
Latent profile analysis
Influencing factors
Undergraduate education
title Intercultural sensitivity among nursing students: a latent profile analysis
title_full Intercultural sensitivity among nursing students: a latent profile analysis
title_fullStr Intercultural sensitivity among nursing students: a latent profile analysis
title_full_unstemmed Intercultural sensitivity among nursing students: a latent profile analysis
title_short Intercultural sensitivity among nursing students: a latent profile analysis
title_sort intercultural sensitivity among nursing students a latent profile analysis
topic Intercultural sensitivity
Nursing
Student
Latent profile analysis
Influencing factors
Undergraduate education
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03659-9
work_keys_str_mv AT youranliu interculturalsensitivityamongnursingstudentsalatentprofileanalysis
AT yanwang interculturalsensitivityamongnursingstudentsalatentprofileanalysis
AT tengfeiliang interculturalsensitivityamongnursingstudentsalatentprofileanalysis
AT shumeizhuang interculturalsensitivityamongnursingstudentsalatentprofileanalysis
AT xiwang interculturalsensitivityamongnursingstudentsalatentprofileanalysis
AT jiewang interculturalsensitivityamongnursingstudentsalatentprofileanalysis
AT huixie interculturalsensitivityamongnursingstudentsalatentprofileanalysis