Nursing students’ awareness about websites : comparison of frequency of website use for self-learning

This survey is to study the difference in awareness of student nurses about websites depending on the frequency of website use for self-learning for a class on “Health assessment”. The subjects were １２７ freshmen at a nursing university. The questionnaire survey was carried out the last day of the class on “Health Assessment” in ２００９ and ２０１０. The aim of the research was explained, and the submission was their free choice. The questionnaire consisted of questions asking how often websites or textbooks were used for self-learning and the １３ questions concerning “Awareness of Websites”. The results showed that ３８ students were “Website users”, １７ students were “Intermediate website users”, and ７２ students were “Non-website users”. Response points of “website information is reliable”came from the website user group who had a significantly higher ratio than the non-website user group （p＜０．０５）. Regarding the１３questions concerning “Awareness of Websites”, the factor analysis was performed. Three factors were extracted and interpreted as follows. The first factor was “habitual websites use”; the second factor was “convenience of the websites”; the third factor was “trust to the websites”. We compared the factor scores according to the frequency of website use. The first factor score of “Website users” was significantly higher than that of “Non-website users” （p＜０．０５）. There was no significant difference in the other factors. The results revealed that website use has already become a habit and is indispensable for the purpose of self-learning for the students who use it frequently. However, about ５５％ of the students used textbooks for their self-learning and they did not use websites for it. It was estimated that this difference might depend on the student confidence level in websites. It is certain that, in future, the majority of students will be using websites. Therefore, measures that ensure reliable websites for students to use for self-learning are required.