Electronic gadgets use and sleep quality among medical students during COVID-19 Lockdown

Author(s):  
Manish Upreti ◽  
Ambika Dawadi

Abstract BACKGROUND: The Nepal Government imposed two national-level lockdowns to curtail the spread of coronavirus. Schools, colleges, and universities were briefly shut leading students to stay indoors. Change in daily routine, online education and plenty of free time has ultimately led to an increase in use of electronic gadgets like smartphones, laptops, etc. There have not been enough studies to evaluate the usage pattern of electronic gadgets and sleep quality among undergraduate medical students of Nepal before and during the COVID-19 lockdown. Our study aims to evaluate the usage pattern of electronic gadgets and sleep quality among undergraduate medical students before and during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nepal.METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 208 undergraduate medical students of Lumbini Medical College, Tansen, Palpa. Participants were requested to fill up an online questionnaire circulated via Viber and Facebook messenger. Gadget usage pattern and sleep quality before and during COVID-19 lockdown were evaluated using Smartphone addiction score-short version (SAS-SV) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) respectively.RESULTS: Of 208 responses which met the inclusion criteria, smartphone addiction was seen 94 (46.30%) respondents with higher number of male addicts (27.59%). Mean time spent in electronic gadgets raised significantly during lockdown compared to pre-COVID phase. 99 (48.77%) respondents had impaired sleep according to PSQI global sleep score. Significant relation was present between most of the components of PSQI with addicts and non-addicts.CONCLUSION: This study is merely a partial snapshot of the present scenario and provides preliminary understanding on smartphone use pattern and sleep quality among medical students from Nepal. It is critical to decrease total screen time and promote sleep quality for the betterment of physical and mental health of the future health care professionals.

Author(s):  
Manasi S. Vaidya ◽  
Sonal R. Deshpande

Background: The afoot COVID-19 pandemic has covered approximately every edge of the world. Schools and colleges are temporarily shut leading to children being indoors. Thus, gadgets have become an inseparable part of life and govern the daily routine of an individual. The aim of the study was to assess the pattern of gadget usage and sleep quality among medical undergraduates during COVID-19 lockdown.Methods: Present cross-sectional study was conducted amongst 149 medical undergraduates of Shri Vasantrao Naik Govt. Medical College, Yavatmal. Their gadget usage pattern and sleep quality before and during lockdown were measured using a predesigned and pretested questionnaire based on Smartphone addiction scale-short version (SAS-SV) and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), administered via the Google forms platform.Results: 139 (93.28%) responses were completely and correctly filled. Smartphone addiction was seen in 71 (51.08%) study subjects. The mean sleep duration before and during lockdown had no significant changes. There was linear positive correlation between SAS-SV score and PSQI score, but the correlation was not statistically significant.Conclusions: The proportion of smartphone addiction amongst medical undergraduates is significantly high and the mean sleep duration is reduced during lockdown.


Author(s):  
Mahesh D. Kurugodiyavar ◽  
Sushma H. R. ◽  
Maneesha Godbole ◽  
Manjunath S. Nekar

Background: Smartphone with its various functionalities has become an essential part of our daily activities and its use has been increasing. This has raised concern about its overuse and addiction especially in students. It is known that poor sleep is very common among medical students; there are many studies on sleep quality and its determinants in medical students but very few relating sleep quality and smartphone addiction. The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between smartphone use severity and sleep quality among medical students of KIMS, Hubballi. Methods: A cross‑sectional study on sample of 240 undergraduate medical students KIMS, Hubballi was conducted. Students were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire, Smart phone addiction scale (SAS) and Pittsburgh sleep quality inventory (PSQI). SAS score and PSQI scores were co-related. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to identify the variables independently associated with level of sleep quality. Results: Out of 240 subjects 117 (48.75%) were poor sleepers & 123 (51.25%) were good sleepers according to PSQI global sleep score. According to SAS score 123 (51.2%) were low users and 117 (48.75%) were high users of Smart phone. The mean (SD) PSQI global score was 4.8 (2.49) and mean (SD) SAS score was 102.93 (22.13). There was positive correlation between SAS score & PSQI score (r=0.343, p<0.001). Gender (β=0.141, p=0.021) & SAS score (β=0.292, p<0.001) were the significant predictors of global PSQI score. Conclusions: This study concludes that in medical students smartphone addiction affects sleep quality significantly and males are particularly more at risk of having poor sleep quality due to excessive smartphone use.  


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sirisa Karki ◽  
Jaya Prasad Singh ◽  
Gita Paudel ◽  
Sushma Khatiwada ◽  
Sameer Timilsina

Abstract Introduction: Increasing smartphone use among adolescents in todays’ world has made this handy device an indispensable electronic tool, however, it comes at a price of problematic overuse or addiction. We aim to investigate the prevalence of smartphone addiction among undergraduate medical students and explore its association with various demographic and personal factors. Methods: A pool of 250 undergraduate students completed a survey composed of socio-demographics information, smartphone-use related variables and 10-point Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version in February 2019. Results: Smartphone addiction among medical students was estimated at around 36.8% with higher percentage of male smartphone addicts. Phubbing was reported by 37.6% participants with more than 60% reporting overuse. Statistically significant association was observed between smartphone addiction and gender and overuse. Self-acknowledgement of addiction was found to be the biggest predictor of smartphone addiction. Conclusion: This study provides preliminary insights into smartphone use, smartphone addiction and various factors predicting smartphone addiction among early undergraduate medical students from Nepal, which should be extended in future studies. Education policymakers and educators need to develop some strategies encouraging student’s smartphone utilization to enhance academic performance. Keywords: smartphone; addiction; undergraduate; medical.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sirisa Karki ◽  
Sameer Timilsina ◽  
Jaya Prasad Singh

Abstract Introduction Increasing smartphone use among adolescents in todays’ world has made this handy device an indispensable electronic tool, however, it comes at a price of problematic overuse or addiction. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of smartphone addiction among undergraduate medical students and explore its association with various demographic and personal factors.Methods A pool of 250 undergraduate students enrolled at Chitwan Medical College were included in this cross-sectional study conducted between August to November 2018. A preformed demographic porforma along with 10-point Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version was used to collect participant information.Results Smartphone addiction among medical students was estimated at around 36.8% with higher percentage of male smartphone addicts. Prevalence rates of smartphone related tolerance was reported in 42.8% participants, 37.6% reported phubbing and 60.8% participants reported overuse. Statistically significant association was observed between smartphone addiction and gender, self-acknowledgement of addiction and overuse.Conclusion This study provides preliminary insights into smartphone use, smartphone addiction and various factors predicting smartphone addiction among early undergraduate medical students from Nepal, which should be extended in future studies. Some fruitful programs and strategies to promote students’ knowledge and awareness about using smartphone seems to be the need of the hour.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Vinay Jahagirdar ◽  
Kaanthi Rama ◽  
Pranavi Soppari ◽  
M. Vijay Kumar

Background. Increased mobile phone usage among undergraduate medical students causes a detrimental effect on their health. The main focus of this study is to determine the pattern of mobile phone usage among undergraduate medical students in Hyderabad, India, and the detrimental effect on their health due to excess mobile use. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate medical students from various medical colleges in Hyderabad, India, from September 2020 to January 2021. Data were collected from 626 respondents using a semistructured, pretested questionnaire. Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV) was used to assess the risk of smartphone addiction. Microsoft Excel and SAS were employed to analyze the data. Associations were examined using Fisher’s exact test. Results. 100% of the respondents were using mobiles, with 83.2% spending more than 4 hours on them. Only 22% reported that no mobile use during classes. Half (51.6%) admitted to keeping their mobiles close by while sleeping. 84.3% used social networking apps via their mobiles. Common symptoms arising from prolonged mobile usage included eye strain (67.9%), blurred vision (31.4%), and numbness or tingling in palms (30.9%). 52.70% of the respondents were at high risk of mobile addiction according to SAS-SV. Screen time more than 4 hours was associated with high risk of mobile addiction ( p < 0.0001 ). Significant association was found between high risk of mobile addiction and eye strain ( p < 0.0001 ), blurry vision ( p = 0.0115 ), numbness/tingling in palms ( p < 0.0001 ), and heat/tingling in the auditory area ( p < 0.0001 ). Conclusion. The study shows the alarming rate of risk of smartphone addiction among medical students. Students can be encouraged to assess their mobile addiction status and become aware of the issue. More research may be performed to develop standardized tools for early identification of mobile addiction and appropriate therapies for its rectification.


SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A272-A272
Author(s):  
Alessandra Castelnuovo ◽  
Samantha Mombelli ◽  
Daniela Bottoni ◽  
Antonella Somma ◽  
Andrea Fossati ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction COVID-19 epidemic led to great psychological and social stress, related to anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, suicidal risk and behavior, and changes in daily routine. The aim of this study was to assess the psychological impact of COVID-19 lockdown in Italian students. We focused on perceived sleep quality, anxiety and depression symptoms, and mostly on risk of suicide. Methods A total of 307 students (mean age 22.84±2.68) completed Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). In our study, we focused on item 9 of BDI-II, that is related to suicide. We divided our sample on presence or absence of suicidal ideation based on this item. Results We found that 30.1% showed depressive, while 38.2% anxious symptoms. Concerning item 9 of BDI-II (suicidal thoughts or wishes), 84.7% answered that they do not have any thoughts of killing themselves, while 15.3% answered that they have some suicidal ideation. Concerning sleep variables, we found that 58% of our sample showed a PSQI total score higher than 5 (poor quality of sleep), and a global worsening in sleep quality and increase of insomnia both in student with and without suicidal ideation. Conclusion Our results on risk of suicide are in line with literature. Recent reviews focused on suicidal ideation in medical students found that depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation are common among medical students, finding a prevalence of suicidal ideation of 11%. Several studies suggest that sleep disorders are a risk factor for suicidal thoughts and behaviours. Our findings show that sleep cannot considered a predictive factor of risk of suicide during health emergency, because the risk is polyfactorial. Support (if any) None


2015 ◽  
Vol 06 (04) ◽  
pp. 001-002
Author(s):  
Vijayalakshmi Poreddi ◽  
Rohini Thimmaiah ◽  
Suresh Bada Math

ABSTRACT Background: Globally, people with mental illness frequently encounter stigma, prejudice, and discrimination by public and health care professionals. Research related to medical students’f attitudes toward people with mental illness is limited from India. Aim: The aim was to assess and compare the attitudes toward people with mental illness among medical students’. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study design was carried out among medical students, who were exposed (n = 115) and not exposed (n = 61) to psychiatry training using self-reporting questionnaire. Results: Our findings showed improvement in students’ attitudes after exposure to psychiatry in benevolent (t = 2.510, P < 0.013) and stigmatization (t = 2.656, P < 0.009) domains. Further, gender, residence, and contact with mental illness were the factors that found to be influencing students’ attitudes toward mental illness. Conclusion: The findings of the present study suggest that psychiatric education proved to be effective in changing the attitudes of medical students toward mental illness to a certain extent. However, there is an urgent need to review the current curriculum to prepare undergraduate medical students to provide holistic care to the people with mental health problems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17
Author(s):  
Momin Kashif ◽  
Mirza Nisar Baig

Background: The rapid growth and availability of smartphones and social media platforms (SMP) have changed the medical students' approach to learn and manage the information about their academic, personal and professional lives. Methods: An online survey was done in undergraduate medical students of PIMS, Karimnagar to collect information about usage pattern and perception of SMP, and willingness to participate for using SMP as a learning tool in medical education. Results: Total 433 (Females – 275) out of 600 students participated in the survey from the first year (125), secondyear (151) and third-year (157) MBBS students. Everyone is using some type of SMP. They find SMP nearly equal to lecture materials and subject notes as a useful learning tool and there was significantly increasing trend of perception of SMP being a useful learning tool from the first-year (79%), second-year (83%) to third-year (92%), (p=0.01). Almost 93% want to see SMP used at institute level in medical education. Female students (52.4%) are significantly more willing for active participation than male students (43%), p=0.04. First-year students (56%) are more ready for active participation followed by third (48.4%) and second (43.7%) year students, p=0.08. Conclusion: Most students are willing to include SMP in medical education as a learning tool and ready to participate in different activities if they get the required training. As all students have smartphones and efficiently utilizing different services on their devices, SMP can become an effective learning tool in medical education.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S279-S279
Author(s):  
Linda Nyamute ◽  
Muthoni Mathai ◽  
Anne Mbwayo

AimsThe main objective was to determine whether quality of sleep is associated with burnout among undergraduate medical students at the University of Nairobi.The null hypothesis in our study population was; 'There is no significant association between poor sleep quality and burnout'.BackgroundIn a pressure prevailing environment, medical students find themselves in a vicious cycle of cutting down on sleep in attempts to cope and adjust to increasing workloads. Students with poor sleep quality have been found to perform worse in their board exam and have strained social engagements. Ultimately, this chronic sleep deprivation may lead to burnout which may cause diminished sense of accomplishment and impaired professional conduct, that may be carried on to the career as a physician. High levels of burnout have been associated with suicides.MethodThe sample size obtained was 384 and participants were selected by a mixed sampling method. Data collection was through self-administered questionnaires. Scales used for this study were the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index(PSQI) and the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory(OLBI).Ethical considerations were adhered to and approval obtained from the Kenyatta National Hospital-University of Nairobi(KNH-UON) Ethics Board. Data entry and analysis was by SPSS v23. Data from 336 questionnaires were deemed fit for analysis.ResultWith a response rate of 87.5%, the prevalence of poor sleep quality and burnout were 69.9% and 74.7% respectively. There was a significant positive association between poor sleep quality and female gender, clinical years of study, living with family, poorly perceived socio-economic state and poor subjective academic performance. In addition, being female, younger, pre-clinical years, living independently off-campus and poor subjective academic performance were significantly associated with higher levels of burnout.Burnout had a significant correlation with poor sleep quality. Daytime functioning, a component of sleep quality had the highest correlation with components of burnout, disengagement and exhaustion. Overall, 57% of the respondents had both poor sleep quality &burnout, while only 12% were good sleepers with no burnout. Furthermore, having poor sleep increased the risk of having burnout by 2.8times. It is crucial that students adopt better sleeping habits to reduce the risk of burnout.ConclusionWith the high prevalence of poor sleep quality and burnout, peer-support groups and peer-led mentorship programs are recommended within this population to help deal with expectations, challenges and difficulties encountered within the course of medical education, in addition to preparing for the early future careers.


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