Nursing Students' Insights: Awareness and Perception about Community Health Nursing as a Career Path

Background: Community health nursing is vital for addressing health disparities and improving public health. However, undergraduate nursing students often lack awareness of its scope and complexity, influencing their career choices.  Aim: Assess the awareness and perceptions of undergraduate nursing students regarding community health nursing as a viable career path at Damanhour University.  Methods: A cross-sectional survey study design was used. A total of 780 fourth-year nursing students at the Faculty of Nursing, Damanhour University, who agreed to participate, were enrolled in the study during the academic year 2022-2023.  Tools of data collection: Tool (I): Student socio-demographic characteristics, Tool (II): Perception and awareness of the community care component scale.  Results: Over half of the participants (55.9%) had a moderate perception of community health nursing, while 44.1% exhibited high perception. A lack of exposure to community care was identified as a contributing factor to the moderate perception level. The correlations between the Affective, Placement, and Professional Scales reveal significant relationships that underscore the importance of engaging community health nursing content.  Conclusion: Nursing students at Damanhour University often underestimate the scope and complexity of community health nursing due to its limited visibility in their education and clinical exposure.  Recommendations: To enhance nursing students' perceptions and interest in community health nursing (CHN), educational programs should prioritize improving CHN training modules with engaging and practical content while expanding real-world exposure through community-based projects and outreach opportunities. Additionally, qualitative research should be conducted to explore cultural and institutional barriers affecting students' perceptions.