Digital health literacy of nursing students

Uvod: Zdravstvena pismenost je koncept, ki je vse bolj prisoten tudi v našem okolju, vendar še ni vsem dobro poznan. Digitalna zdravstvena pismenost je posameznikova spretnost za iskanje zdravstvenih informacij pri doseganju optimalne ravni zdravja in dobrega počutja ter reševanja izzivov v zvezi z zdravjem. Svetovni splet je postal sinonim za iskanje zdravstvenih informacij, vendar kaže, da je bolj malo znanega o spretnosti posameznikov glede iskanja in ocenjevanja uporabnosti pridobljenih informacij v povezavi z zdravjem. Digitalna zdravstvena pismenost lahko pomembno vpliva tako na ključne kompetence študentov kot tudi njihovo prihodnjo delovno uspešnost. Namen: Namen diplomskega dela je raziskati digitalno zdravstveno pismenost med študenti zdravstvene nege in ugotoviti, kako iščejo zdravstvene informacije na internetu v povezavi z reševanjem lastnih zdravstvenih težav. Metode: Uporabljen je bil kvantitativni pristop s pomočjo razširjenega vprašalnika Electronic Health Literacy Scale, ki je pogosto uporabljen merski instrument za preverjanje e-zdravstvene pismenosti. Uporabili smo priložnostni vzorec. V raziskavo, ki je potekala med novembrom 2018 in marcem 2019, je bilo vključenih 186 študentov 2. in 3. letnika zdravstvene nege na Zdravstveni fakulteti Univerze v Ljubljani. Rezultati: Anketiranim študentom zdravstvene nege se zdi svetovni splet koristen za sprejemanje odločitev o lastnem zdravju (M ± SD = 3,3 ± 0,9), prav tako se jim zdi uporaben za dostopanje do digitalnih zdravstvenih vsebin (M ± SD = 3,9 ± 1,0). Anketiranci so pri samoocenjevanju digitalne zdravstvene pismenosti v povprečju dosegli 29,62 točke na lestvici od 8 do 40. Diskusija in zaključek: Digitalna zdravstvena pismenost med anketiranimi študenti zdravstvene nege v izbrani izobraževalni ustanovi je v povprečju dobra, kljub temu ima več kot četrtina slabo digitalno zdravstveno pismenost. Zato bi bilo smiselno pridobivanje digitalnih zdravstvenih kompetenc vključiti v program izobraževanja bodočih zdravstvenih delavcev in v prihodnosti preučevati ta fenomen tako med študenti kot zdravstvenimi delavci ter pri tem uporabiti tudi druge, bolj specifične instrumente.Introduction: Health literacy is an increasingly frequent concept in our environment, but not yet well known to everyone. Digital health literacy is an individual\u27s ability to seek health-related information in achieving an optimal level of health and well-being, as well as addressing challenges related to health. Internet has become synonymous to the search of health-related information. However, very little is known about the skills of individuals, who search for and evaluate the usefulness of the obtained health information. Digital health ability can influence vital student`s competencies as well as their future work performance. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore digital health literacy among nursing students. In addition, we want to determine how they search for health-related information on the Internet while trying to solve their own health problems. Methods: In this thesis we employed a quantitative approach using the Electronic Health Literacy Scale, which is a commonly used instrument to measure eHealth literacy. We used a convenience sample. The research took place between November 2018 and March 2019, and included 186 second- and third-year nursing students at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Ljubljana. Results: The surveyed nursing students find the Internet helpful for making decisions concerning their own health (M ± SD = 3,3 ± 0,9), as well as useful for accessing digital health content (M ± SD = 3,9 ± 1,0). In the self-assessment of digital health literacy, the respondents on average reached 29.62 points on a scale of 8 to 40. Discussion and conclusion: Digital health literacy among the surveyed nursing students of the selected educational institution is on average good, although more than a quarter of them have poor digital health literacy. Therefore, it would be reasonable to include the acquisition of digital health competencies in the education program of future health professionals, and to study this phenomenon in the future among both, the students and health professionals, using other, more specific instruments