The Mediating Effect of Critical Thinking Disposition on the Relationship between Digital Literacy and Patient Safety Management Activities among Nursing Students

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the mediating effect of critical thinking disposition on the relationship between digital literacy and patient safety management activities among nursing students, thereby providing foundational data for establishing strategies to enhance patient safety management activities. Data were collected from 182 third-and fourth-year nursing students across two universities located in G city and J province from June 1 to 16, 2026. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson’s correlation coefficients using the SPSS 29.0 Program. The mediating effect was verified using Model 4 of the PROCESS Macro. Patient safety management activities showed significant positive correlations with digital literacy(r=.717, p<.001) and critical thinking disposition(r=.642, p<.001). Furthermore, critical thinking disposition was found to partially mediate the relationship between digital literacy and patient safety management activities(B=.177, SE=.059, 95% Boot CI [.063, .292]). Therefore, these findings suggest the need to develop and evaluate educational programs within the undergraduate curriculum that simultaneously promote digital literacy and critical thinking disposition to enhance patient safety management activities among nursing students.