The effect of Ahi-based education on the professional values of nursing students

Abstract

Background Professional values guide nurses’ ethical judgments, care relationships, and professional responsibilities. However, evidence on culturally grounded educational approaches that connect local moral traditions with nursing professional values remains limited. Research question and aim This study aimed to compare the professional values of nursing students who received Ahi-based education with those who did not. Research design A non-randomized pretest–posttest quasi-experimental design with intervention and control groups was used. Participants and research context The study included 168 second-year nursing students from two state universities in Central Anatolia, Turkey. The intervention group ( n = 84) received the face-to-face “Ahi Culture and Professional Ethics” course for two class hours weekly over 14 weeks in addition to routine nursing education, whereas the control group ( n = 84) continued the routine curriculum. Ethical considerations Ethical approval and institutional permissions were obtained. Online informed consent was obtained, participation was voluntary, and no directly identifying information was collected. Students were informed that participation would not affect their grades or academic evaluation. Findings After adjustment for the baseline NPVS-R total score, the intervention group had higher post-test NPVS-R total scores than the control group (adjusted mean difference = 6.05, 95% CI [1.02, 11.09], p = .019). Secondary exploratory analyses showed higher Caring and Trust factor scores in the intervention group, whereas the between-group difference in Professionalism was not statistically significant. Conclusions Students who received Ahi-based education had significantly higher overall professional values scores and higher scores on the Caring and Trust factors than those in the control group, whereas no significant between-group difference was observed in the Professionalism factor.