title: Nursing students' perceptions of their instructors' caring behaviors: A four-country study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Caring is the core and essence of the nursing profession. Nurse educators, are in a key position to role model for perspective nurses the role of caring while including caring as a vital component in a nursing curriculum.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This paper is a report on students' perceptions of instructors' caring behavior in four countries: India, Greece, Nigeria, and the Philippines.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study utilized a quantitative, cross-sectional, comparative approach. A total of 450 nursing students participated with an almost equal nursing student frequency distribution. The main instrument used in this study was the Nursing Students' Perceptions of Instructor Caring (NSPIC). The study was conducted during the months of September 2013 to January 2014. Descriptive statistics, correlations analysis, linear regression model and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data collected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The highest rated subscale in the NSPIC was "instills confidence through caring" (M=4.268, SD=0.964), while the lowest ranked subscale was for the subscale "Control versus flexibility" (M=3.609, SD=1.076). No significant correlations were found between the NSPIC scale and gender (F=0.060, p=0.807), age (F=3.220, p=0.073), educational level (F=0.100, p=0.752) and family status of students (F=1.417, p=0.235), except the country of origin (F=3.703, p=0.012, η(2)=0.024).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With this study as an initial investigation into ascertaining nursing instructors caring focused on a cross-country approach, nurse educators can utilize this information to better portray their role as a nurse educator when being perceived by their nursing students.
authors.affiliation: Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
authors.forename: Leodoro J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Labrague
authors.affiliation: Kent State University, Philadelphia, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Denise M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: McEnroe-Petitte
authors.affiliation: Technological Educational Institute of Thessaly, Thessaly, Greece.
authors.forename: Ioanna V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Papathanasiou
authors.affiliation: University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Olaide B
authors.initials: OB
authors.lastname: Edet
authors.affiliation: Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
authors.forename: Judie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arulappan
authors.affiliation: Nursing Department, TEI of Thessaly, Thessaly, Greece.
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsaras
authors.affiliation: Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
authors.forename: Dennis C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Fronda
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003479:Curriculum; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate; D004645:Empathy; D005181:Faculty, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria; D010679:Philippines; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Caring; Caring behavior; Clinical instructor; Nursing education