Exploring Curriculum and Educational Approaches to Preparing Undergraduate Nursing Students to Deliver Culturally Responsive Care to Diverse Populations: A Scoping Review Protocol: Open Science Framework Protocol Registration

ABSTRACT

Background
Culturally responsive care is seen as an essential skill for new nurses, enabling them to deliver safe, equitable, and patient-centred treatment to people from diverse backgrounds. The global demographic landscape, characterised by migration, multicultural communities, and health inequities, underscores the urgency for nurses to provide patient-centred care to meet the unique social, cultural, and linguistic needs of patients. Undergraduate nursing programs serve as the essential groundwork where these competencies are developed. However, evidence suggests substantial variability in how culturally responsive care is conceptualised, integrated into curricula, and operationalised through teaching strategies and assessment modalities. While some programs embed structured cultural diversity modules, experiential learning, and reflective practice opportunities, others rely on ad hoc content, leaving graduates variably prepared to navigate culturally complex clinical environments. This heterogeneity poses challenges for standardising educational outcomes and ensuring consistent readiness across global nursing cohorts.  
 
Despite the recognised importance of integrating cultural diversity into nurse education, there remains a lack of comprehensive synthesis mapping the pedagogical approaches, curricular designs, and educational interventions implemented internationally to foster culturally responsive nursing practice. Existing literature is fragmented, spanning disparate educational contexts, program structures, and methodological approaches, and often prioritises evaluation of student self-perceptions or attitudinal outcomes over practical competencies.