Digital Health Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Comparative Study of Public and Private Colleges in Mirpurkhas, Sindh, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: Digital health technologies are increasingly transforming healthcare delivery, requiring healthcare professionals to possess adequate digital competencies. Nursing students, as future healthcare providers, must develop sufficient knowledge, positive attitudes, and effective practices related to digital health technologies to ensure safe and efficient patient care in technology-driven healthcare systems. However, limited evidence exists regarding digital health readiness among nursing students in developing regions such as Pakistan. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the levels of digital health knowledge, attitudes, and practices among undergraduate nursing students and to examine differences between public and private institutions as well as across academic years. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among 254 undergraduate nursing students enrolled in selected public and private nursing colleges in Mirpurkhas, Sindh, Pakistan. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 27. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize variables, while independent samples t-tests and one-way ANOVA were used to compare group differences. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to assess relationships among knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Results: The mean scores for knowledge (3.30 ± 0.75), attitudes (3.26 ± 0.56), and practices (3.46 ± 0.86) indicated moderate levels across all domains. Significant differences were observed between public and private institutions in knowledge (p = 0.031) and attitudes (p = 0.024), while practices showed no significant difference (p = 0.189). Significant variations were also found across academic years for knowledge (p = 0.028) and attitudes (p = 0.003). Strong positive correlations were identified between knowledge and attitudes (r = 0.754), knowledge and practices (r = 0.688), and attitudes and practices (r = 0.698), all statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Undergraduate nursing students demonstrated moderate digital health knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Strengthening digital health literacy and informatics education within nursing curricula may enhance students’ preparedness for technology-driven healthcare systems.