Summary•The shift in emphasis to community‐based health care necessitates that opportunities be provided for nursing students to acquire an understanding of the complex nature of health.•A qualitative study was used to demonstrate the benefits accrued by junior baccalaureate nursing students in non‐traditional community settings.•Key themes that emerged from data analysis included definitions of health and illness as context specific, and environmental factors influencing health.•The study demonstrated that learning experiences with diverse communities can broaden students' perspectives and understanding of health behaviours. Students gained an appreciation of the sociocultural variation in meanings of health and illness as well as of the social and political dimension