Digital Health Literacy and Antibiotic Self-Medication among Faculty of Nursing Students in Surman, Libya

Abstract

Background: Antibiotic resistance (AR) is a pressing global public health crisis driven by systemic misuse and self-medication (SM). In the digital era, nursing students increasingly rely on online health information, highlighting "Digital Health Literacy" (DHL) as a critical determinant of pharmaceutical behavior. Objective: This study aimed to assess the level of Digital Health Literacy and its relationship with antibiotic self-medication and misuse among nursing students at the Faculty of Nursing in Surman, Libya. Methodology: A descriptive-analytical cross-sectional design was utilized. Data were collected via an electronic survey distributed to a convenience sample of 60 nursing students at the Faculty of Nursing in Surman. The study utilized a 5-item DHLS (5-point Likert scale) and a 4-item WHO scale (3-point Likert scale). Results: The findings indicated an acceptable level of awareness regarding AR, and 71.66% of students expressed a strong sense of professional responsibility toward patient education. However, a significant training gap was identified; participation in specialized workshops recorded the lowest mean (1.27 on a 3-point Likert scale). Descriptively, age and gender showed variations in medication behaviors, which serve as baseline factors for future predictive modeling. Conclusion: The study concludes that integrating Antimicrobial Stewardship and health informatics into the Libyan nursing curriculum is an essential requirement to bridge the gap between digital skills and safe clinical practice