Unravelling the digital competence of students in physiotherapy education through the European digital competence framework

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the distribution and extent of the physiotherapy students’ digital competence, using the European Digital Competence Framework (DigComp). Materials and methods: Two focus group interviews with second-year students enrolled in a Physiotherapy Bachelor study program were conducted. Meaningful units from the interviews were linked to a competence area of DigComp and rated on a 4-point ordinal scale. Results: Based on the accounts from 10 participants, a total of 208 meaningful units, were identified. Of these 155 (74.5%) were coded, while 53 (25.5%) remained uncategorised. The competence area Problem solving accounted for 49% of the instances, Communication and collaboration, and Data literacy each accounted for 21%, Safety accounted for 8%, and Digital content creation for 3%. The overall proficiency level score was a mean of 1.99 (SD = 0.83), indicating an intermediate level of digital competence. Conclusions: This study uncovered an uneven distribution of digital competence among physiotherapy students, highlighting the absence of several potentially clinically important competencies. Moreover, the students’ overall proficiency level in digital competence was determined to be at an intermediate level. Deficiencies in their digital competence could have implications for critical clinical aspects, including integrating digital content in patient interactions and addressing safety concerns.