exploring barriers to attending zhengzhou university from the international nursing students’ viewpoints in china: a qualitative study

Background: developing nursing capacity worldwide includes training nurses to the doctorate level. due to a global shortage of phd nursing programs, many nurses are pursuing their doctorates abroad. international nurse students frequently face some barriers because of socio-cultural and other differences. as far as we are concerned, there is limited research on the barriers experienced by international nursing students. objectives: this study aimed to explore the barriers to attending zhengzhou university from the viewpoint of international nursing students in china. methods: the study employed a qualitative approach among international nursing students at zhengzhou university, china. participants were selected using purposeful sampling, and the sample size was determined by information saturation. a semi-structured interview guide and a conventional content analysis method were used. results: in this study, ten international nursing students were interviewed. all participants expressed their concerns regarding the barriers experienced in china. two major categories were identified from the student data: (1) situations outside the school/university (skin color, language, and socio-cultural differences); and (2) those inside the school/university (expectations and realities of learning experiences, supervisory concerns, and lack of support).conclusions: this study indicated that international nursing students experienced different barriers than international students at zhengzhou university. a secure learning environment is required to adapt and flourish in an educational teaching society. the university/school should create a culturally competent and suitable environment for international nursing students.