Digital Health Literacy Among Odontology Students in Senegal: Exploratory Survey

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.