Oral Healthcare Knowledge, Attitudes, Confidence and Learning Experiences Among Chinese Nursing Students: A Mixed-Methods Study.

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Oral diseases are widespread globally, yet nursing students often lack adequate education in oral healthcare. This study explores their knowledge, attitudes, confidence, and learning experiences to inform improvements in oral health education within nursing programs. METHODS: A sequential mixed-methods design was conducted from April to July 2024 across three universities in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, China. Quantitative data were collected via a structured questionnaire from 454 nursing students and analyzed using logistic regression. Subsequently, 21 students with high levels of oral healthcare attitudes and confidence were purposively selected for in-depth interviews. A phenomenological approach guided the qualitative phase, and data were used by thematic analysis . RESULTS: Only 240 (52.86%) students demonstrated good levels of oral healthcare attitudes and confidence. Higher likelihood of positive attitudes and confidence was associated with being in the third-year, strong passion for nursing, good self-reported oral health and knowledge, and strong interest in working in oral healthcare. Qualitative analysis identified five themes: (1) learning pathways, (2) learning needs, (3) learning prospects, (4) influence on attitude, and (5) influence on confidence. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing students exhibited suboptimal attitude and confidence in oral healthcare, influenced by academic year, nursing passion, self-assessed oral health, knowledge, and interest in oral healthcare. Addressing learning barriers and integrating engaging, practice-oriented content may improve competence. Future research should assess these effect of such pedagogy on long-term clinical impact.