Aim: The purpose of the study is to determine students’ health perceptions in the nursing department.
Method: A descriptive-designed study enrolled 400 nursing students in the health sciences department. Data were evaluated on a health perception scale from answers to a questionnaire consisting of 14 questions developed by researchers. A one-way analysis of variance, correlation, chi-square, t-test, and the average differences between the two independent samples were used for statistical analysis.
Results: Students had an average age of 20.0±1.7 years, 81.8% were women, and 34.0% were freshmen. The mean score on the health perception scale was 37.9±6.6. Health perception overall score based on class and age was significantly different between mean scores of certainty subscale and control center subscale (p<0.05). Control center subscale mean score, expressed health perception, and total health perception scale were significantly different according to the preferred method of treatment compared (p<0.05). Total health perception scores were found to be low of students perceived as having good health.
Conclusion: Although two-thirds of students perceive their own health to be on a high level, the results of this study revealed low perceived health perception scores. Based on these results, students in nursing education need to improve health perception since it is advisable to raise awareness about this issue.