Knowledge of Mpox, Media Exposure, and Clinical Experience:

Background: This study aimed to determine the predictors of nursing students’ preparedness for disease outbreaks and the relationships between knowledge of Mpox, media exposure, and clinical experience, as moderated by demographic variables. One hundred respondents were selected using stratified random sampling from four academic levels at the University of Gitwe. Methods: The study employed a Quantitative research design. The results indicated that the respondents had high knowledge of Mpox (66%), high media exposure (mean = 2.69, SD = 0.743), and substantial clinical experience (mean = 2.58, SD = 0.794). Despite facing certain challenges, there was a high level of preparedness for disease outbreaks, particularly concerning Mpox (mean = 2.77, SD = 0.73). Findings: The study found that knowledge of Mpox had a negligible and non-significant correlation with preparedness for disease outbreaks (rho = -0.077, p = 0.445). Conversely, media exposure exhibited a moderate positive correlation with preparedness (rho = 0.636, p < 0.001), while clinical experience showed a positive but non-significant relationship (R² = 0.142). Conclusion: The findings suggest that media exposure and clinical training programs enhance students’ preparedness to manage disease outbreaks. Media exposure was identified as the most significant predictor of preparedness. Based on these findings, it is recommended to integrate media literacy, structured clinical training, and disaster preparedness workshops into nursing education curricula to strengthen students’ capacity to respond to public health emergencies effectively.