Determinants of cultural intelligence and cultural competence among undergraduate nursing students in Namibia: A multicampus study

Abstract

Background: In an increasingly globalised world, healthcare professionals encounter a diverse range of patients, making it essential for nursing students to be culturally intelligent and culturally competent. However, this area remains understudied in Namibia.
Aim: To assess and describe the determinants of cultural intelligence (CQ) and cultural competence among undergraduate nursing students at two university campuses in Namibia.
Setting: Two satellite university campuses in Namibia.
Methods: A quantitative descriptive design with a purposive sample of 215 undergraduate nursing students was employed between May 2024 and July 2024 using the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) and the Nursing Cultural Competence Scale (NCCS) online questionnaires. Data were analysed using SPSS v29.
Results: Cultural competence had the highest average score (3.630 ± 1.150), followed by behavioural cultural intelligence (3.480 ± 1.010). A moderately significant correlation was observed between cultural competence and the behavioural dimension (r = 0.448; p < 0.001) and between motivation and the cognitive dimension (r = 0.310; p < 0.001). Four factors – behavioural cultural intelligence, cognitive, motivational and cultural competence – accounted for 47.62% to 61.17% of the total variance.
Conclusion: Nursing students demonstrated strong capabilities in both the behavioural and motivational aspects of cultural intelligence, as well as in cultural competence. These findings are valuable for developing nursing curricula to train culturally intelligent and competent practitioners. Future studies should focus on tool refinement.
Contribution: While refinement is required for the metacognitive subscale, the study contributes to the body of literature pertinent to curriculum design.