Childhood overweight bias: Perceptions of student nurses within the nursing major
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Moudi Albargawi, MSN, RN, Beta Delta-at-Large Chapter, Eta Nu Chapter; Pamela Treisman, BS, RN; Julia Snethen, PhD, RN, Eta Nu Chapter; Ruth Treisman, MS, APRN, Aaron Buseh, PhD, MPH, MSN, Sheryl Kelber, MS.
- Sigma Affiliation
- Eta Nu
- Contributor Affiliation(s)
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Purpose: To explore bias among student nurses within the nursing major regarding overweight children.
Setting: College of Nursing at a large Midwestern University in an urban setting.
Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with students (N = 213) at the junior (n = 104) and senior (n = 109) levels of the nursing majors. Participants completed a survey regarding their perceptions of overweight children.
Results: A majority of the participants were female (79.7%), white (80%), and self-identified as ‘normal weight’ (74%). Overall, junior and senior students reported negative perceptions of overweight children (p= 0.119). Significant differences were found between perceptions of overweight children, with senior students identifying the children as “lazy” (χ²= 6.687, p= 0.035), yet junior students reported the children “like food” (χ²= 8.732, p= 0.013). A majority of students reported that overweight children had “no will power” (χ²= 1.162, p = 0.559), or “self-control” (χ²= 0.627, p = 0.731) and “overeat” (χ²= 0.709, p = 0.702). Students generally perceived that overweight children were “slow” (χ²= 1.09, p = 0.580) and “weak” (χ²= 0.550, p = 0.759). A positive perception held by both groups was that overweight children are “shapely” (χ²= 0.983, p= 0.612).
Conclusions: Responses indicated that the majority of students had misconceptions about overweight children.
Implications: Nursing educators could benefit from these findings, as it suggests a need to clarify students’ misperceptions about overweight children. Further studies are encouraged, to examine students’ perception about overweight children from cross cultural perspectives.
This work has been approved through a peer-review process prior to its posting in the Virginia Henderson Global Nursing e-Repository.
| Type | Poster |
| Acquisition | Self-submission |
| Review Type | Peer-review: Single Blind |
| Format | Text-based Document |
| Evidence Level | Cross-Sectional Study |
| Research Approach | Quantitative Research |
| Keywords | Childhood Obesity; Student Nurses; Overweight/obesity; Perception |
| CINAHL Subject(s) | Pediatric Obesity; Attitude to Obesity; Students, Nursing; Student Attitudes |
| Name | 18th annual Building Bridges to Research Based Nursing Practice Conference Improving Quality and Safety through Research |
| Host | Marquette University College of Nursing; Southeastern Wisconsin Nursing Research Consortium |
| Location | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA |
| Date | 2016 |
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