Prevalence of Nursing Students With Background Check Findings

Abstract

Background: Background checks (BGC) have been used in nursing education since the 2000s. Little is known about the prevalence of BGC among nursing students or how these students compare to the general population. Method: This retrospective study describes aggregated, de-identified BGC data from 2014–2019 in 16 large nursing programs in the United States. An independent samples t test was used to compare U.S. regional means and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) regional arrest data. Results: The mean percentage of nursing student BGC with findings was 3.2% (minimum .00%, maximum 13.33%, SD 2.98%). The mean prevalence of BGC findings does not significantly differ among U.S. regions. There was no significant difference between BGC results in nursing students and regional FBI arrest data. Conclusion: Excluding students with BGC findings has not been studied but may represent a structural barrier to diversification of the nursing profession. Additional research linking BGC findings to public protection is required. [ J Nurs Educ . 2024;63(1):32–37.]