'Moving with the times' taking a glocal approach: a qualitative study of African student nurse views of e learning.

BACKGROUND: Information technology is a rapidly increasing means of communication in education and healthcare. This is also true in low resource settings, where electronic communication provides an opportunity for sharing information about health and wellbeing and enhancing learning for healthcare professionals. METHODS: A qualitative study whereby 51 year 3 and 4 student nurses at the University of Nairobi participated in 5 focus group discussions. Data were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a framework approach. RESULTS: Four main themes were identified, 'moving with the times', 'global networking', 'inequity as a barrier' and 'transfer of internet learning into practice'. CONCLUSIONS: Information technology is already integral to students' lives both personally and professionally and the students had a strong desire to find out what is happening globally. The familiarity of the internet contributes to the acceptance of e-learning programs as part of educational curricula. Students felt that e-learning 'is here to stay' and wanted to 'embrace the concept.' E-learning was generally welcomed however students suggested that it should be 'supplementary' to face-to-face learning. In order to incorporate e-learning ethically in low resource settings, resources should be sustainable, for example CDROMs and DVDs which are not dependant on internet access. Researching the views of qualified midwives might be the next step in promoting this valuable teaching method.