Absenteeism among undergraduate nursing students: a scoping review

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BACKGROUND: Absenteeism among nursing students in classroom and clinical settings presents ongoing challenges to academic performance, clinical competency, and program completion. Understanding its causes, impacts and mitigation strategies is critical for improving student outcomes. AIM: To map the existing literature on absenteeism among undergraduate nursing students. The objectives were (1) to identify the factors contributing to absenteeism; (2) to examine the academic, clinical, and professional impacts of absenteeism; and (3) to explore strategies used to address this issue. DESIGN: Scoping review. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in four major databases, including MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), EMBASE, PsycINFO (Ovid) and also in Google Scholar. Keywords included "nursing students," "absenteeism," "classroom attendance," and "clinical placement". Studies published in English between 2000 and 2024 were included. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were screened, and relevant studies were analysed using content analysis, consistent with JBI guidance for scoping reviews. Findings were subsequently mapped and categorised into three overarching domains: contributing factors, impacts, and strategies to address absenteeism. RESULTS: Twenty-six studies were included. Absenteeism in classroom and clinical settings reflected four broad factors: teaching and academic factors, personal and health factors, logistical and institutional factors, and social and cultural factors. Impacts of absenteeism included reduced academic performance, delayed progression, and diminished clinical competency and skill development. Strategies to mitigate absenteeism were categorised into five domains: academic and curriculum support, student engagement and motivation, student wellbeing and support services, governance and policy enforcement, and community, clinical, and collaborative engagement. CONCLUSION: Absenteeism in nursing education is multifaceted and has an adverse impact on both academic and clinical outcomes. Addressing this issue requires a holistic, multi-level approach that combines academic support, student engagement, institutional governance, and collaborative partnerships. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies.

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