Facilitators and barriers to voluntary medical male circumcision as an HIV prevention strategy in Kavango East, Namibia.

BACKGROUND: Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is a strategy used to try to limit new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections, as it has the potential to reduce HIV and/or AIDS transmission from women to men by up to 60%. However, in spite of efforts by the Ministry of Health and Social Services, only a few men in Namibia have been circumcised. The objective of this study was to explore and describe the facilitators of, and barriers to, medical male circumcision for HIV prevention in Kavango East, Namibia. METHODS: A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design was employed. The accessible population in this study comprised 18 health professionals who were selected for the study using a purposive sampling technique. RESULTS: Participants reported numerous barriers to VMMC in Namibia. Barriers to VMMC included 'myths' and misconceptions attached to VMMC, age limitations, fear of pain and stigma associated with HIV, small VMMC team and long distances from health facilities. Facilitators to VMMC included family support, having experienced genital sores and genital warts or phimosis and paraphimosis. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that a number of barriers must be overcome before VMMC before the desired number of men take advantage of VMMC. Multiple factors act as constraints to VMMC, including fear, myths and misconceptions, small VMMC teams and the long distance between clients' homes and VMMC services.Contribution: The study's findings can be used to develop targeted interventions and strategies that can be used by VMMC providers to address the identified barriers.

Lived experiences of nursing students regarding learning in large classes and its effects on teaching and learning at the University of Namibia.

BACKGROUND: Whilst the number of students who choose to enrol at institutions of higher education continues to increase, class size remains a challenge. Therefore, institutions of higher education should continuously explore the challenges experienced by students regarding learning in large classes and devise strategies to address such challenges. The experiences of nursing students regarding learning in large classes and its effects on teaching and learning at the University of Namibia (UNAM) and in Namibia are not extensively researched. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of nursing students regarding learning in large classes and its effects on teaching and learning at the UNAM. METHODS: A qualitative explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was employed. Data collection was conducted using semi-structured interviews to ascertain the experiences of nursing students regarding learning in large classes and its effects on teaching and learning at the UNAM. Fifteen undergraduate nursing students from the Rundu campus participated in the study using a purposive sampling technique. RESULTS: The analysis of data led to the emergence of the following themes namely: negative learning experiences, positive learning experiences and mechanisms for improvement. The findings had a negative effect on participants' learning outcomes. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study indicated that participants were dissatisfied with the size of their classes as the learning environment was not conducive for teaching and learning.