Nursing students’ self-efficacy in lifestyle counselling: Associations with learning methods

Several non-communicable diseases are strongly linked to lifestyle factors, making preventive measures essential. One effective approach is lifestyle counselling, which has demonstrated promising results in the prevention, treatment, and management of these diseases. However, despite its potential, patients often do not receive lifestyle counselling to the extent required. The existing literature indicates that one contributing factor is low self-efficacy in lifestyle counselling among nurses. This study aimed to explore nursing students’ self-efficacy in lifestyle counselling and its association with self-assessed learning methods. Nursing students (n = 310) completed a questionnaire that had a cross-sectional study design at a university in southern Sweden. The self-efficacy in lifestyle counselling scale (SELC20 + 20) was used to measure self-efficacy in lifestyle counselling, and additional questions about learning methods were included to assess Bandura’s sources of self-efficacy. Multiple linear regression was used to explore the relationship between self-efficacy in lifestyle counselling and self-assessed learning methods. The mean total knowledge score was significantly higher than that of the mean total ability score. The learning methods that were significantly associated with self-efficacy in knowledge of lifestyle counselling after adjustment for age and sex, were: own search for knowledge, theoretical knowledge through education, receiving feedback on counselling, personal experiences, observed lifestyle counselling, and experience in lifestyle counselling (R2 = 0.30). Learning methods that were significantly associated with self-efficacy in lifestyle counselling ability, after adjusting for age and sex, were: own search for knowledge, personal experiences, theoretical knowledge through education, and receiving feedback on counselling (R2 = 0.33). The results indicated that mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, and social persuasion were significantly associated with knowledge of lifestyle counselling, while mastery experiences and social persuasion were significantly associated with lifestyle counselling ability. Further research is needed to deepen our understanding of how self-efficacy in lifestyle counselling develops among nursing students.