Background A poor understanding of health literacy and inadequate health practices among nurses can be detrimental to a population’s health. The starting point of solving this problem is through the provision of methodical health literacy and health practice education in the nursing curriculum. This study explored nursing students’ understanding of the concept of ‘health literacy’ and their health practices at a university in Namibia. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 205 nursing students. A simple stratified sampling method was used and data were collected using a self-reporting Understanding of Health Literacy (UHL) questionnaire. Pearson correlation, independent t-test and One-way ANOVA were used to analyse the data. Results The overall mean Understanding of Health Literacy score was 13.04 ± 1.52. The majority (n = 157; 76.5%) of the students were found to have adequate health literacy scores, 21.5% had moderate health literacy scores, and only 2% had inadequate health literacy scores. The overall mean health practice score was 32.4 ± 5.50. Most (n = 106; 51.7%) of the students were found to have poor health practices, 44.4% had average health practices, and just 3.9% had good health practices. There was no significant relationship between the health literacy levels and health practices of the students (p = 0.63). Conclusions Nursing students have a good understanding of the concept of health literacy, but more effort can be made to translate this understanding into health literacy skills. There is a need to investigate the contributing factors to poor health practices, as well as develop strategies that can support good health practices among nursing students. These health literacy skills could then be transferred into the students' professional careers as nurses.

Background. Simulations are defined as situations where models are used for practice and to gain experience that will enhance students' practical skills. The use of simulations in clinical skills training can stimulate deep learning and help students to bridge the gap between theory and practice in nursing. This has been revealed in many studies where simulations positively impacted on clinical decision-making and patient care, and there has been great interest in the use of simulation in nurse training. However, the introduction of technologically driven simulators, especially in resourceconstrained settings, has been met with mixed feelings. Objective. To explore the perceptions and experiences of nurse educators in using high-fidelity simulation (HFS) in teaching. Methods. A qualitative case study design was utilised. Seven educators at a school of nursing, which has HFS, participated in a focus group discussion. Data were thematically analysed. Results. Four themes emerged from the educators' experiences and perceptions. The use and benefits of HFS were generally accepted by educators. They valued its positive impact on learning outcomes in learners and the ability to simulate more complex scenarios during training. Lack of prior planning, inadequate training and lack of resources impacted negatively on the effective use and implementation of HFS. Conclusion. The results indicated that nurse educators perceived HFS as a learning pedagogy that can improve students' learning outcomes if used effectively. They believed that to realise the potential of HFS, more support should be provided through training, the availability of necessary resources, and improved planning and organisation. This open-access article is distributed under Creative Commons licence CC-BY-NC 4.0.

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Background Nursing education involves a number of stakeholders in the teaching and learning process, and these are student nurses, lecturers, clinical instructors and nurses. The role that each of these parties play in the teaching and learning process is dependent on each other and is key to the development of competence among student nurses. However, there is scanty literature on the discourse of how these stakeholders conceptualise their roles to maximise student learning. The objective of this study was to explore the conceptions of stakeholders on their teaching and learning roles in nursing education. Methods Thirty-eight semi-structured interviews and three focus group discussions were conducted with nursing students, lecturers, clinical educators at a Namibian nursing college and nurses at teaching hospitals. Phenomenographic data analysis approach was applied. Results Four conceptions were constructed that described the level of involvement of the different parties in teaching and learning. These were initiating, supporting, becoming part of and owning the teaching and learning role. Three dimensions of variation marked the differences among the conceptions: responsibility and accountability, priorities and level of collaboration. Conclusions The parties involved in the teaching and learning in nursing education have qualitatively different understating of their roles and those of others. There is a pattern transcending from being at the periphery of teaching and learning to taking ownership of teaching and learning. And a movement from limited responsibility and collaboration to that of being responsible, accountable and high level of collaboration in the teaching and learning of nursing students. The conceptions in this study add more ways of enhancing collaboration between theoretical and clinical sites in nursing education, by ensuring that those involved are aware of their role and that of others and work collaboratively at the micro-level.

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Aim The aim of this study was to understand students' engagement with learning in an online environment at a university in Namibia. Design A qualitative descriptive design was applied. Methods Data were collected using in‐depth telephonic interviews among 12 purposively selected nursing students. Data were analysed thematically. Results While the students did practice engagement, their understanding of learning engagement was not clear. The students considered online learning to be a safe space for engagement that enhanced active participation. They also noted that it forced them to reflect on their pre‐existing knowledge before learning new information and ultimately enhanced their understanding of the learning material. The findings of this research suggest that online platforms and apps can support nursing students' learning engagement, in particular behavioural engagement, but they are less conducive to cognitive and affective engagement.

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