Attitudes towards the immigration of students from a nursing school in Portugal

Abstract

Background: Cultural diversity is present in all societies. Nurses must be culturally competent to provide quality care. Objective: To validate the Scale of Attitude toward Immigration in Nursing (EAIE) in Portuguese and to know the attitudes toward the immigration of the first-year undergraduate students of a nursing school in Portugal. Methodology: Descriptive, exploratory, and analytical study, with the translation and transcultural adaptation of the EAIE to the Portuguese language, composed of 39 items. The participants were 143 students. Results: Scale with a good internal consistency, assessed with Cronbach’s α (0,94). With the univariate analysis of the scale and each separate item, significant attitudinal differences were identified between men and women in 6 items, and among age groups in 2 items. Conclusion: The attitudes of a portion of the students are not favorable to the full recognition of the rights of health and social resources of the immigrants. It is necessary to develop the training in cultural competence and the Universal Right to Health.