Diversity, equity, and inclusion of black pre-licensure nursing students in Texas institutions of higher education

Purpose: To describe the experiences and perceptions of Black/African American pre-licensure nursing students related to campus climate diversity, cultural awareness, and sense of belonging, and determine their correlation with the academic performance of Black pre-licensure nursing students. Procedure: A cross-sectional, descriptive correlational quantitative design was used to explore the diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives on Black pre-licensure students’ academic performance. Subjects were pre-licensure Black nursing students enrolled in a nursing program in Texas. Subjects were recruited using study descriptions and flyers through the students' email addresses and listservs obtained using the Texas Public Information Act. A total of 172 (N = 172) subjects were surveyed using the Campus Diversity Questionnaire-Revised (CDQR), Cultural Awareness Scale (CAS), and Challenged Sense of Belonging Scale (CSBC) instruments via the PsychData survey. The first research question aimed to describe the experiences and perceptions of Black pre-licensure nursing students’ related to campus climate diversity, cultural awareness, and sense of belonging using simple and multiple linear regression analysis. The second research question aimed to determine the relationships between campus climate diversity, cultural awareness, sense of belonging, and

iv academic performance for Black pre-licensure nursing students using Ordinal Multinomial Logistic Regression analysis. Sample characteristics were performed using a ten-item demographic form in the Psychdata survey. Results: The data analysis revealed that Black pre-licensure nursing students who experience greater levels of cultural awareness had a greater sense of belonging compared to students with lower levels of cultural awareness as measured by the cultural awareness scale F(1, 171) = 6.199, β = .367, p = .007. Additionally, Black pre-licensure students with higher levels of cultural awareness in the nursing program had higher GPAs p = .009, χ2 (4) = 6.869. The CDQR had a Cronbach alpha coefficient value of α=.930. The CAS had a Cronbach alpha coefficient value of α=.932. The CSBC had a Cronbach alpha coefficient value of α=.933. Summary: Nursing programs should incorporate cultural awareness in the nursing curriculum and higher educational institutions. Nursing programs should provide DEI initiatives such as emotional, financial, and psychological support and resources for the academic success of all students.