Investigating the information literacy of medical students of Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in Ahvaz with their demographic characteristics in the academic year 2020-2021

Abstract

Background: Information literacy enables learners to master information content and expand their exploration and control to learn more. Information literacy is an essential element in the development of independent and effective learning in higher education. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the organization and use of electronic information and its relationship with some demographic characteristics of students.Method: In this descriptive-analytical study, the studied population included all medical students from the third to the seventh year of medicine at Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in Ahvaz in the academic year of 2020-2021. The sample size consisted of 302 people, of which 28 people were dropped. Data was collected by using information literacy questionnaire including 30 items and five skills. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire has been checked. The random sampling method was simple. To analyze the data, descriptive and analytical statistics were used using SPSS software at a significance level of p<0.05.Results: The mean score of information literacy of medical students was 2.72± 0.56 out of 5. Comparing the mean scores of information literacy between the level of information literacy of medical students in basic, clerkship and internship courses showed that there is a statistically significant difference, as well as in higher levels the level of information literacy of students increases.Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the average information literacy of medical students was moderate. Since the students were studying for a professional doctorate, it requires special attention to improve their literacy level.

Keywords

• information literacy
• medical students
• technology
• information evaluation