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Cited by 185Digital literacy in educationHealth Literacy and Information AccessibilityArtificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education

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

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Abou Hashish, Ebtsam Aly, Alnajjar, Hend·2024·BMC Medical Education
DOI 10.1186/s12909-024-05482-3PMC PMC11077799
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Abstract

Background: Implementing digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI) in education and practice necessitates understanding nursing students’ attitudes and behaviors as end-users toward current and future digital and AI applications. Purpose: This study aimed to assess the perceived knowledge, attitudes, and skills of nursing students regarding digital transformation, as well as their digital health literacy (DHL) and attitudes toward AI. Furthermore, we investigated the potential correlations among these variables. Methods: A descriptive correlational design was employed in a Saudi nursing college utilizing a convenience sample of 266 nursing students. A structured questionnaire consisting of six sections was used, covering personal information, knowledge, skills and attitudes toward digital transformation, digital skills, DHL, and attitudes toward AI. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation were employed for data analysis. Results: Nursing students exhibited good knowledge of and positive attitudes toward digital transformation services. They possessed strong digital skills, and their DHL and positive attitude toward AI were commendable. Overall, the findings indicated significant positive correlations between knowledge of digital transformation services and all the digital variables measured (p = < 0.05). Senior students reported greater digital knowledge and a positive attitude toward AI. Conclusion: The study recommends an innovative undergraduate curriculum that integrates opportunities for hands-on experience with digital healthcare technologies to enhance their digital literacy and skills.

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  • Research in Saudi higher education suggests that stronger digital competence and critical awareness are associated with improved learning outcomes, enhanced digital well-being, and more sustainable technology engagement.

    “Research in Saudi higher education suggests that stronger digital competence and critical awareness are associated with improved learning outcomes, enhanced digital well-being, and more sustainable technology engagement (Abou Hashish and Alnajjar, 2024; Ahmed and Ali, 2024; Alruwaili et al., 2025).”

    From From tool to scaffold: structured human–AI collaboration and its effects on academic writing and digital critical thinking among Saudi EFL learners (2026) · cites this paper as Abou Hashish and Alnajjar, 2024

    The Discussion (page not available) reports that Saudi nursing students’ knowledge and awareness of digital transformation were positively correlated with their digital skills, health literacy, and attitudes toward technology. It also discusses technology use for learning. It does not establish an association with improved learning outcomes, digital well-being, or sustainable technology engagement. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Abou Hashish, E. A., & Alnajjar, H.
Affiliations
King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (SA)
ORCID
Venue
BMC Medical Education
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2024-05-07
Volume
24
Issue
1
Pages
508-508
ISSN
1472-6920 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12909-024-05482-3
PMC
PMC11077799
OpenAlex
W4396707530
Cited by
185
References
8
Citations by year
2026: 102 · 2025: 71 · 2024: 12
FWCI
69.56
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Medical Education (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Digital literacy in education
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Health Informatics › Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
Keywords
digital skills, digital transformation, digital health literacy, attitudes toward AI, nursing students, digital literacy, nursing education, undergraduate curriculum
MeSH terms
Adult, Artificial Intelligence, Curriculum, Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate, Female, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Saudi Arabia, Students, Nursing, Young Adult, Health Literacy

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