Background: The development of digital technologies has made scientific resources at university increasingly accessible to students. However, students need specific skills to locate, assess, and use this information effectively in their training and research. Digital health literacy (DHL) refers to the ability to use the Internet and other digital platforms to find, understand, and evaluate health-related information. This study aimed to assess the level of digital health literacy among dental students in Senegal. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 196 dental students at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar with proportional stratified sampling. The Digital Health Literacy Instrument (DHLI) was used to assess students’ DHL levels. The distribution of DHL scores according to gender, academic level, and type of information sought was analysed using Fisher’s exact test. Results: Students were more likely to seek general information (42%) than information related to their dental training (35%). The level of online health information search was estimated as average for 48.9% and low for 41.3% of participants. Regarding the ability to verify the reliability of online information, 48.2% demonstrated low competence. More than half of the students (55.2%) showed average skills in communicating via digital media. Only the distribution of Internet search skills by academic level and communication skills by gender were statistically significant (p < 0.01). Conclusion: This study revealed an overall average level of digital health literacy among dental students in Senegal, with particularly low performance in verifying information reliability. These findings underscore the need for targeted educational interventions and greater integration of digital health literacy into dental curricula.
| Published in | Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 13, Issue 4) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.sjph.20251304.15 |
| Page(s) | 201-211 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Digital Health Literacy, Student, Odontology, Senegal
| [1] | Arni P, Laddha S. Adoption of Digital Marketing in Health Industry. J manag. 2017; 13(1): 38. |
| [2] | Hussain KM, Rafique GM, Naveed MA. Determinants of social media information credibility among university students. J Acad Librarianship. 2023; 49(4): 102745. |
| [3] | Borges do Nascimento IJ, Pizarro AB, Almeida JM, Azzopardi-Muscat N, Gonçalves MA, Björklund M, et al. Infodemics and health misinformation: a systematic review of reviews. Bull World Health Organ. 2022; 100(9): 544-61. |
| [4] | Allison L, Anoush M, Gabriele V. Exploring Students’ Use of ICT and Expectations of Learning Methods. Electron J e-Learn. 2010; 8(1): 13-20. |
| [5] | Norman CD, Skinner HA. eHealth Literacy: Essential Skills for Consumer Health in a Networked World. J Med Internet Res. 2006; 8(2): e9. |
| [6] | Çetin M, Gümüş R. Research into the relationship between digital health literacy and healthy lifestyle behaviors: an intergenerational comparison. Front Public Health. 2023; 11: 1259412. |
| [7] | Neter E, Brainin E. eHealth literacy: extending the digital divide to the realm of health information. J Med Internet Res. 2012; 14(1): e19. |
| [8] | Magon A, Arrigoni C, Graffigna G, Barello S, Moia M, Palareti G, et al. The effect of health literacy on vaccine hesitancy among Italian anticoagulated population during COVID-19 pandemic: the moderating role of health engagement. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics. 2021; 0(0): 1-6. |
| [9] | Dadaczynski K, Okan O, Messer M, Leung AYM, Rosário R, Darlington E, et al. Digital Health Literacy and Web-Based Information-Seeking Behaviors of University Students in Germany During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-sectional Survey Study. J Med Internet Res. 2021; 23(1): e24097. |
| [10] | Zakar R, Iqbal S, Zakar MZ, Fischer F. COVID-19 and Health Information Seeking Behavior: Digital Health Literacy Survey amongst University Students in Pakistan. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021; 18(8): 4009. |
| [11] | Ndibalema, P. Digital literacy gaps in promoting 21st century skills among students in higher education institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review. Cogent Education. 2025; 12(1): 2452085. |
| [12] | van der Vaart R, Drossaert C. Development of the Digital Health Literacy Instrument: Measuring a Broad Spectrum of Health 1.0 and Health 2.0 Skills. J Med Internet Res. 2017; 19(1): e27. |
| [13] | Iyer RR, Sethuraman R. Role of ehealth literacy, learning styles, and patterns of web-based e-content access for seeking health information among dental university students in Vadodara, India. J Educ Health Promot. 2024; 13: 56. |
| [14] | Luai AF, Sabri BAM, Radzi NAM. Levels and Predictors of Digital Literacy Skills Among Dental Students: A Multi-institutional Study in Malaysia. Mal J Med Health Sci. 2024; 20(6): 187-94. |
| [15] | Pokharel PK, Budhathoki SS, Pokharel HP. Electronic Health Literacy Skills among Medical and Dental Interns at B P Koirala Institute of Health Sciences. J Nepal Health Res Counc. 2016; 14(34): 159-64. |
| [16] | Aungst TD, Patel R. Integrating Digital Health into the Curriculum-Considerations on the Current Landscape and Future Developments. J Med Educ Curric Dev. 2020; 7: 2382120519901275. |
| [17] | Shiferaw KB, Mehari EA, Eshete T. eHealth literacy and internet use among undergraduate nursing students in a resource limited country: A cross-sectional study. Inform Med Unlocked. 2020; 18: 100273. |
| [18] | Taha H, Abu-Surrah D, Abu-Awadh L, Mahmoud A, Al-Qadi T, Al Hamdan L, et al. Assessment of the effect of social media use on medical students’ academic performance: cross-sectional study from Jordan. Front Public Health. 2025; 13: 1551905. |
| [19] | Darabi F, Ziapour A, Ahmadinia H. Digital health literacy and sociodemographic factors among students in western Iran: a cross-sectional study. BMC Medical Education. 2025; 25(1): 206. |
| [20] | Shakurnia A, Fazelinia T, Khajeali N. The trend of critical thinking disposition in medical students and its relationship with their academic performance. J Educ Health Promot. 2021; 10: 479. |
| [21] | Bonaccorsi G, Gallinoro V, Guida A, Morittu C, Ferro Allodola V, Lastrucci V, et al. Digital Health Literacy and Information-Seeking in the Era of COVID-19: Gender Differences Emerged from a Florentine University Experience. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023; 20(3): 2611. |
APA Style
Dieng, S. N., Dieng, A., Diop, M., Kanouté, A., Diouf, M., et al. (2025). Digital Health Literacy Among Odontology Students in Senegal: Exploratory Survey. Science Journal of Public Health, 13(4), 201-211. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20251304.15
ACS Style
Dieng, S. N.; Dieng, A.; Diop, M.; Kanouté, A.; Diouf, M., et al. Digital Health Literacy Among Odontology Students in Senegal: Exploratory Survey. Sci. J. Public Health 2025, 13(4), 201-211. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20251304.15
Share This Article
Twitter
Linked In
Facebook
Copy
Download@article{10.11648/j.sjph.20251304.15,
author = {Serigne Ndame Dieng and Amadou Dieng and Mbathio Diop and Aïda Kanouté and Massamba Diouf and Cheikh Mouhamadou Mbacké Lô and Daouda Faye},
title = {Digital Health Literacy Among Odontology Students in Senegal: Exploratory Survey
},
journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
volume = {13},
number = {4},
pages = {201-211},
doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20251304.15},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20251304.15},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20251304.15},
abstract = {Background: The development of digital technologies has made scientific resources at university increasingly accessible to students. However, students need specific skills to locate, assess, and use this information effectively in their training and research. Digital health literacy (DHL) refers to the ability to use the Internet and other digital platforms to find, understand, and evaluate health-related information. This study aimed to assess the level of digital health literacy among dental students in Senegal. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 196 dental students at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar with proportional stratified sampling. The Digital Health Literacy Instrument (DHLI) was used to assess students’ DHL levels. The distribution of DHL scores according to gender, academic level, and type of information sought was analysed using Fisher’s exact test. Results: Students were more likely to seek general information (42%) than information related to their dental training (35%). The level of online health information search was estimated as average for 48.9% and low for 41.3% of participants. Regarding the ability to verify the reliability of online information, 48.2% demonstrated low competence. More than half of the students (55.2%) showed average skills in communicating via digital media. Only the distribution of Internet search skills by academic level and communication skills by gender were statistically significant (p Conclusion: This study revealed an overall average level of digital health literacy among dental students in Senegal, with particularly low performance in verifying information reliability. These findings underscore the need for targeted educational interventions and greater integration of digital health literacy into dental curricula.},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Digital Health Literacy Among Odontology Students in Senegal: Exploratory Survey AU - Serigne Ndame Dieng AU - Amadou Dieng AU - Mbathio Diop AU - Aïda Kanouté AU - Massamba Diouf AU - Cheikh Mouhamadou Mbacké Lô AU - Daouda Faye Y1 - 2025/08/11 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20251304.15 DO - 10.11648/j.sjph.20251304.15 T2 - Science Journal of Public Health JF - Science Journal of Public Health JO - Science Journal of Public Health SP - 201 EP - 211 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-7950 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20251304.15 AB - Background: The development of digital technologies has made scientific resources at university increasingly accessible to students. However, students need specific skills to locate, assess, and use this information effectively in their training and research. Digital health literacy (DHL) refers to the ability to use the Internet and other digital platforms to find, understand, and evaluate health-related information. This study aimed to assess the level of digital health literacy among dental students in Senegal. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 196 dental students at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar with proportional stratified sampling. The Digital Health Literacy Instrument (DHLI) was used to assess students’ DHL levels. The distribution of DHL scores according to gender, academic level, and type of information sought was analysed using Fisher’s exact test. Results: Students were more likely to seek general information (42%) than information related to their dental training (35%). The level of online health information search was estimated as average for 48.9% and low for 41.3% of participants. Regarding the ability to verify the reliability of online information, 48.2% demonstrated low competence. More than half of the students (55.2%) showed average skills in communicating via digital media. Only the distribution of Internet search skills by academic level and communication skills by gender were statistically significant (p Conclusion: This study revealed an overall average level of digital health literacy among dental students in Senegal, with particularly low performance in verifying information reliability. These findings underscore the need for targeted educational interventions and greater integration of digital health literacy into dental curricula. VL - 13 IS - 4 ER -
Faculty of Medicine Pharmacy and Odonto-stomatology, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal
Faculty of Medicine Pharmacy and Odonto-stomatology, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal
Faculty of Medicine Pharmacy and Odonto-stomatology, Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar, Senegal
Information