Information literacy and digital competences of the nurses of primary health care

Abstract

The study investigates the levels of information literacy and digital skills among nurses
working in primary health care settings, as well as the variation in these characteristics
across the sample's demographic characteristics. The study was conducted from February
to March 2024 in 117 nurses (95.9% response rate) from the 5th Health Region of
Thessaly and Central Greece. The assessment of information literacy and digital skills was
conducted using a tool based on the DigComp 2.2 framework, which comprises five
dimensions of digital competence. Results showed that nurses had a moderate level of
Information Literacy, which was positively correlated with work experience and better
computer literacy, and negatively correlated with age. Digital skills were also rated as
moderate, while the highest scores were recorded in the sub-skills 'Safety' and 'Problem
solving', and the lowest in 'Communication and collaboration' and especially in 'Content
creation'. 'Communication and Collaboration' was positively correlated with experience
and computer knowledge, but negatively correlated with gender (lower scores for
women). Finally, perceptions of overall current information were positively correlated with
work experience and computer knowledge, and were lower among women. Enhancing
information literacy and digital skills can improve nursing staff performance, positively
impacting service quality and patient safety.

JEL Classifications: Ι18, J24, Ο33
Keywords: Health literacy, digital competence, nurses, primary health care