Digital Competence and Medical Databases Usage of Nursing Students in a Nigerian Private University
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Abstract
Background: Medical databases are collections of medical information that are stored electronically in an organized manner for easy accessibility. Digital competence is an essential skill for Nigerian university nursing students for effective utilization of digital tools to care for patients. The study assessed medical database availability and nursing students' digital literacy at a Nigerian private university, exploring awareness levels, available resources, and challenges faced with these databases.
Method: The study used a descriptive survey design with a structured self-designed Google form questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. The form was sent out through the students’ WhatsApp forum. One hundred and eighty students participated in the study from 100 to 500 levels. The data was analysed using simple frequency and percentages with SPSS software package.
Results: Out of 180 participants, 90% were female and 10% male. Most found online academic research easy, with 73.9% in strong agreement. Popular databases included Hinari, Embase, and JSTOR. Other known databases revealed are Online Access to Research in the Environment (OARE), National Virtual Library, and Proquest were less known. Major challenges identified were database search difficulties and poor awareness.
Conclusion: Many of the respondents had basic knowledge of computer usage; however, some could not search and access medical databases effectively. The results revealed that respondent’s level of awareness of medical databases was poor; the study, therefore, recommends training and awareness programs on the available medical databases to enable nursing students to develop necessary skills that would ease medical databases accessibility and usage.
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