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The impact on attitudes towards cultural difference of participation in a health focused study abroad program
Alistair Inglis
Senior Lecturer, Flexible Learning Environment Unit, RMIT, Bundoora VIC
Colleen Rolls
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Australian Catholic University, Fitzroy VIC
Susanne Kristy
Senior Lecturer, Department of Primary Health Care Practice, RMIT, Bundoora VIC
Abstract
The changes in attitudes towards cultural difference of seventeen participants in a three-week community health study abroad program to Nepal were compared with the changes in attitudes of a similar group who did not participate in the tour. Participants in the tour group were surveyed eight weeks prior to departure and in the last week of the tour using a twenty-six item questionnaire employing a six-point forced-choice response scale. The responses of participants in the tour group showed significant shifts in relation to eight items compared while the responses for the control group showed no significant shifts. Observed student advantages of participation in this study tour included the development of independent behaviour and positive cultural adjustment and adaptation.
Keywords
attitudes, cultural difference, cultural adjustment, community health, international study tour
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