Career intentions toward community health nursing and associated factors among nursing and midwifery students at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia

Understanding perceptions towards community health nursing as a career among nursing students is vital. However, evidence is scarce, especially in resource-limited settings. This study aimed to assess the career intentions toward community health nursing and associated factors among nursing and midwifery students at a public university. A cross-sectional study was conducted among nursing and midwifery students at a Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia from March 20–25, 2024. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. EpiData v.4.6 and SPSS v.26 were used for data entry and analysis, respectively. Descriptive statistics were calculated according to the nature of the variables. The association between different independent variables and students’ intention to work as a community health nurse was assessed using chi-squared analysis. Data were presented using tables and text. Of the 130 students surveyed, 48.5 % expressed their intention to work as community health nurses. Mean scores were 9.22 ± 2.99 out of 20 for attitude, 14.42 ± 3.29 out of 25 for subjective norm, and 12.52 ± 3.13 out of 25 for perceived behavioral control. Chi-squared tests indicated that religion, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were significantly associated with the intention to work as a community health nurse. A substantial proportion of students expressed a strong intention to pursue a career as a community health nurse. The intention was significantly associated with attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and religion. This study highlights the need for targeted interventions to further enhance students’ perceptions and their intentions. Abbreviations: CHN, Community health nursing; TPB, Theory of Planned Behavior; WHO, World Health Organization.