Disparities in access to and knowledge of ICT among health sciences students in Peru: The National Household Survey on Living Conditions and Poverty (ENAHO) 2022

Introduction: In the current context, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) play a crucial role in all areas of society, including the field of education. Especially in health sciences, access to and knowledge of ICT have become fundamental for the training and development of future healthcare professionals in Peru. However, disparities persist in access to and acquisition of digital skills among health science students in the country. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted using secondary data from the National Household Survey on Living Conditions and Poverty (ENAHO) 2022, conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI). For the present study, a subsample of participants from health science students was considered, by taking in consideration inclusion and exclusion criteria with a statistical power of 81% (p301, p301A, p301B, and p316C) was considered. Results: Of a total of 600 students, 41.2% were from public universities and 58.8% were from private universities. The majority of the participants were female (78%). In terms of age, we found that 290 students belonged to the age group of 17–20 years (40.7%); 222 students were from 21 to 25 years old (36%), and 148 students were over 25 years old (23.45%). Likewise, the majority were between the 1st and 3rd year of study (54.7%). There were significant differences in access to ICT among health sciences students from public and private universities according to the following categorical variables: having equipment (p = 0.014) and having the necessary infrastructure (p = 0.019). However, there were no differences in relation to teacher instruction (p = 0.662), use of the Internet for training activities (p = 0.539), or in relation to computer activities, such as the use of programming languages; for instance, 90.6% have not used it. Conclusion: This study highlights the existence of disparities in access to ICT. These findings suggest the need to strengthen investments in technology in public institutions to ensure equitable and quality education. Additionally, the results indicate a gap in knowledge and experience in the use of programming languages, such as AI, among health science students, which may require further attention and promotion of digital skills in the educational curriculum.