Changes and continuities in undergraduate nursing education during and after COVID-19: a European comparative study from the perspective of health science

Abstract

Background: The education of healthcare professionals, including nurses, represents a critical intersection with health systems science (HSS), which is often considered the third pillar of healthcare education alongside basic and clinical sciences. Despite the amount of research on nursing education during the COVID-19 pandemic, there remains a gap in analysis from an HSS perspective. Methods: A Comparative Education Approach involving undergraduate nursing programs (UNPs) across Europe, with longitudinal data collection from 2002 to 2023. The aim of the study was threefold: (a) to summarize the overall changes in UNPs during the COVID-19 pandemic; (b) to identify the changes retained in the post-pandemic era; and (c) to identify the impact of the pandemic on nursing education as perceived by nurse educators across nine European countries. […]