Access to Public Available Health Data and Knowledge of Health Indicators Among Students at the Faculty of Public Health in Timor-Leste

Increasing the capacity to provide quality, timely and reliable data is one of the targets of the SDGs, especially in small island states like Timor-Leste. This research aims to analyze Faculty of Public Health students' access to public health data and their understanding of key health indicators. This research used a quantitative method with a cross-sectional survey approach with a structured questionnaire that was self-completed by the respondents. The sample consisted of 152 purposively selected students from the first to fourth semester. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results showed that most students had accessed various sources of health data, such as the Timor-Leste Ministry of Health (91%), WHO (78%), and UNICEF (63%). However, students' understanding of important health indicators was low; 86% did not understand the underweight indicator, 80% did not understand life expectancy, and 90% did not understand infant mortality. This research implies the need for curriculum development that focuses on data literacy and statistics to improve students' ability to access, analyze, and understand public health data. This intervention is important to prepare graduates who are able to face future data-driven public health challenges.