Digital Health Literacy (DHL) Levels Among Nursing Baccalaureate Students And Their Perception And Attitudes Toward The Application Of Artificial Intelligence (AI) In Nursing

Abstract

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) technology and digitalization in healthcare have advanced quickly in recent years, altering all sides of daily life and playing an expanding role in nursing education and healthcare. In order to succeed academically and utilize technology in nursing education and practice in the future, nursing students must have adequate digital health literacy. Aim of the study: This study aimed to measure the digital health-literacy levels among baccalaureate nursing students and its relation to their perception and attitudes towards the application of AI. Design: A descriptive correlational design was utilized to fulfill the aim of this study. Setting: The current study was conducted in the Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University. Sample: A convenient sample of (128) Baccalaureate nursing students who registered for the 4th academic level -1st semester of 2019/2020 academic year. Tools: Tow tools were used as follows; I. Nursing students' perspectives on artificial intelligence questionnaire and II. Self-administered Digital Health Literacy scale. Result: The majority of baccalaureate nursing students have a moderate to a high level of digital health literacy. Also, there was a higher perception among baccalaureate nursing students regarding the application of AI in nursing. Moreover, their attitudes and feeling toward AI were moderate. Conclusion: The study finding revealed that there was no statistically significant correlation between the total score of AI in nursing and the total score of digital health literacy among baccalaureate nursing students. Recommendations: Develop an innovative undergraduate curriculum that includes opportunities for students to experience digital healthcare technologies such as AI to improve their digital competency and assist learners in its entry-level nursing programs access to the necessary digital tools.

Digital proficiency: assessing knowledge, attitudes, and skills in digital transformation, health literacy, and artificial intelligence among university nursing students

“…A structured questionnaire composed of six sections was used to collect all the required data. The first four sections were developed by the current researchers based on a relevant literature review [ 1 , 9 , 15 – 23 , 25 , 26 , 28 – 31 , 40 , 43 , 46 , 56 – 58 ].…”

“…Section 4: Digital skills (DS): This section included six items where the respondents provided their opinions on their level of digital skills in the use of digital technologies, online public services, and taking advantage of digital learning opportunities. Section 5: Digital Health Literacy (DHL): The DHL scale consists of eight items adapted by current researchers from Mekawy et al [ 23 ] to assess students’ perceived skills in digital health literacy. Section 6: Attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AAI): The AAI scale was adapted from Abuzaid et al [ 28 ].…”

“…Likewise, nursing AI tools encompass clinical decision support, mobile health, sensor-based technologies, voice assistants, and robotics. These devices have the potential to automate routine tasks, optimizing nurses’ time for direct patient care [ 23 ]. AI applications include analyzing electronic nursing records, pressure sores and safety risk analysis, nursing robots, and scheduling [ 24 , 25 ].…”

“…Despite positive performance and utilization expectations from the application of AI technology in the healthcare setting, there are growing alarms. Using AI simultaneously increases the risk of unforeseen outcomes, discrimination, and ethical issues caused by malfunctions and incomplete technology related to AI medical devices; the alteration and bias of information due to a lack of accumulated data or learning errors in AI; and the invasion of privacy, which is also growing [ 26 ] and might be dangerous to the nursing profession [ 23 ]. However, Briganti and Le Moine (2020) emphasized the rising importance of AI in healthcare and recommended incorporating AI education into medical and nursing school curricula.…”

“…Previous research studies have shown that the use of technology predominantly depends on one’s knowledge and attitude toward that technology, including AI [ 8 , 23 , 26 – 28 ]. While there is a consensus on the importance of digital literacy for nursing students, there is limited focus on measuring digital transformation and skills among Saudi nursing students.…”