Abstract:
Introduction: The concept of a sense of belongingness has been found to be a fundamental
human need which affects psychological, cognitive, and social well-being within a certain group
of people. It has the role to influence overall better mental, physical, social, economic, and
behavioural outcomes in goal achievement. It consists of and refers to one‟s feeling of deep
social, interpersonal connection and collective experiences. Contextually, nursing students in
their clinical placement need to belong to the wide clinical team for their ongoing learning
during their clinical period
Purpose: This study primarily aimed to assess the sense of
belongingness among undergraduate nursing students in Rwanda and the factors associated with
the sense of belongingness
Methodology: The study used a quantitative, descriptive cross sectional convenient sampling was used to recruit 181 undergraduate nursing students as
participants. An adopted validated and reliable tool was administered as an online platform to
collect data. By using SPSS version 21, data were retrieved, imported and analysed by using
descriptive and inferential statistics; Chi-Square and odd ratio were used to describe the sense of
belongingness and its associated factors.
Results: Good sense of belongingness was found
reported among 95 respondents (52.5%, N=181) whereas a poor sense of belongingness was
reported among 86 respondents (47.5%). Only level of the hospital has shown a statistically
significant association with a sense of belongingness among other demographic data. Moreover,
by assessing the factors influencing sense of belongingness, 8 factors named Perception
(OR:1.721, 1.281-2.171,95 %CI, P-value:0.022), Presence of good friends (support from others)
(P=0.021), Respect, Competence and self confidence (OR:3.11,0.141-6.623, 95%CI, P-value:
0.012), Equity (OR=2.112,1.241-5.123, 95% CI, P-value: 0.002), Active participation and
supportive staff (OR=2.111, 6.032-9.321 95% CI, P-value=0.044), Clinical supervision and
mentorship (OR:2.321,1.991-7.45, P-value: 0.038), Learning opportunities (OR=3.121,1.922-
9.715 95% CI, P-value=0.045). Those factors are the most influencers of the sense of
belongingness among undergraduate nursing students with the meaningful odd ratio
Conclusion: The sense of belongingness among nursing students in clinical placement is
influenced by several factors. There is a need for further researches to explore the influence of
each factor.
