Microbiological Contamination of Mobile Phones and Mobile Phone Hygiene of Final-Year Medical Students in Uganda: A Need for Educational Intervention

Background: Social media and digital communication have become a part of life. Many things were made easy through online connectivity. The mobile phones not only connects people at anytime, anywhere and with anybody, but also movable and portable. Mobile phones when used extensively may cause a number of physical and psychological problems. Nomophobia (NO-MObile phone-PHOBIA) is one of the psychological problems related to exclusive use of mobile phone. It is the fear/anxiety of being away from mobile phone contact. The objectives are to study grading of nomophobia and to find out any correlation exits between nomophobia and sleeping difficulty and anxiety among medical students.Methods: A cross sectional study is conducted for duration of 6 months among medical students using semi-structured questionnaire. Nomophobia questionnaire (NMP-Q) is used to assess nomophobia, Athens insomnia scale is used to assess sleeping difficulty and general anxiety disorder- 7 Item scale is used to assess general anxiety.Results: The study showed that out of 364 students, 62 (17%) have mild, 234 (64.3%) have moderate and 68 (18.7%) have severe nomophobia. There is a weak positive correlation between nomophobia and sleeping difficult and anxiety.Conclusions: There problem of nomophobia is alarming; there is a need to reduce nomophobia, and to evolve effective strategies to enhance human interaction.

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Prevalence and Determining Factors Of Refractive Errors Among Medical Students In FMU, Faisalabad

10.53350/pjmhs2115112934 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (11) ◽

pp. 2934-2935

Author(s):

Nadia Tufail ◽

Huda Abbas ◽

Ali Sarfraz ◽

Sumaira Ashraf ◽

M. Ashraf Majrooh

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Mobile Phone ◽

Mobile Phones ◽

Refractive Error ◽

Contact Lenses ◽

Electronic Devices ◽

Quantitative Information ◽

Refractive Errors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Determining Factors

Aim: Prevalence and determining factors of refractive errors among the medical students in FMU, Faisalabad. Methodology: Cross-sectional quantitative study conducted in Faisalabad Medical University from 01-03-2020 to 15-12-2020 after approval from institutional review committee. All students of MBBS in FMU were included in this study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the required quantitative information. SPSS version 26 was used for analysis. Results: Prevalence of refractive error is 49%. Females were 59% and males were 41%. More students i.e. 85.2% were suffering from myopia. In our study, usage of electronic devices i.e. mobile phones especially was one of the risk factors in developing refractive errors. 20.6% students having refractive error said that they use mobile phone for 4 hours, 30.2% having refractive error said that they watch TV for one hour, 23.3% having refractive error said that they play video games for one hour. For the correction of the refractive error, 184 students i.e. 97.4% used spectacles whereas only 5 (2.6%) students used contact lenses. It is observed in this study that contact lenses were only used by those students having refractive error <1.5. Conclusion: Refractive errors were a significant cause of visual impairment among medical students. The prolonged use of electronic devices especially mobile phones should be discouraged. Keywords: Refractive errors, myopia, electronic devices, mobile phone

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The Utilization of Mobile Phones with medical related apps among foreign medical students in WMU, China (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.10030 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Laite Chen ◽

Chen-Yang Jiang

Keyword(s):

Operating System ◽

Medical Students ◽

Mobile Phone ◽

Mobile Phones ◽

Medical Practice ◽

Daily Basis ◽

Smart Phones ◽

Medical Apps ◽

Medical University

BACKGROUND Smart phones containing medical related apps have been applied to medical practice and proved to be helpful by previous studies. However, no attention has been paid to the use of mobile phone and medical related apps among foreign medical students(FMSs) in China. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to investigate the utilization of mobile phones with medical apps among FMSs in WMU. METHODS A survey of FMSs was conducted in Wenzhou Medical University (WMU). Data from questionnaire include the major obstacles FMSs face in China; the acceptance and preference of medical related apps in FMSs; the patterns of medical related app usage within FMSs. RESULTS This study included ninety-three FMSs, all of whom owned at least one mobile phone. Most owners had more than one medical related app. No difference on gender or operating system was found in utilization of apps. 55% of FMSs reported using medical related apps on a daily basis, among which, 65% of them spent more than 20 minutes on medical related apps everyday. CONCLUSIONS Mobile phones were highly applied among FMSs in WMU. With more effort in app designing, smart phones could be a possible solution for necessary aid in learning medicine overseas.

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Assessment of mobile phone problematic usage and associated health related symptoms among medical students at Goa Medical College

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health ◽

10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20193988 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (9) ◽

pp. 3886

Author(s):

Varsha M. Bhamaikar ◽

Abhishek Bicholkar ◽

Jagadish Cacodcar

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Medical Students ◽

Mobile Phone ◽

Mobile Phones ◽

Sleep Disturbances ◽

Study Data ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Health Symptoms ◽

Total Prevalence ◽

Health Related

Background: Mobile Phones can be considered as one of the essential socio-personal utility with diverse features but its overuse may have negative consequences on health. The objective of the present study was to assess the prevalence of mobile phone problematic usage among the medical students and to study the association of health related symptoms and problematic mobile phone usage.Methods: A total of 250 medical students were included in this study. Data regarding the sociodemographic factors and perceived health symptoms related to mobile phone use was collected on a predesigned, structured and self-administered questionnaire. Mobile phone problem use scale (MPPUS) was employed to assess the problematic usage of mobile phone and students were classified into following four categories - casual users (<74), regular users (75-143), at risk users (>143-<179) and problematic users (>179).Results: The total prevalence of problematic users was 22% (17.2% at risk, 4.8% problematic users). Eye strain, concentration difficulties, memory disturbances, morning tiredness, headache, sleep disturbances, painful fingers and restlessness were significantly associated with at risk and problematic users.Conclusions: Multiple health symptoms were associated with problematic use of mobile phones among the medical students. MPPUS is a useful tool which can be used to identify problematic usage of mobile phones.

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Investigating Different Dimensions of Nomophobia among Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.3889/oamjms.2019.138 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 573-578 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Mohammad Darvishi ◽

Majid Noori ◽

Mohammad Reza Nazer ◽

Soheil Sheikholeslami ◽

Ebrahim Karimi

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Mobile Phone ◽

Mobile Phones ◽

Cell Phone ◽

Demographic Data ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

P Value ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Significance Level

BACKGROUND: Today, mobile phones are recognised as an inseparable part of our daily lives, facilitating communication between users. Based on the studies, addiction to cell phones can lead to several complications including depression, anxiety, anger, and aggression. AIM: This study aimed to investigate nomophobia (no mobile phone phobia) among medical students of Islamic Azad University, Tehran Branch. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 students studying in different majors of medical sciences in Islamic Azad University, Tehran Branch, from 2016 to 2017. Demographic data of all participants were recorded in a data sheet. In the next stage, a questionnaire was designed by the researcher to evaluate the effect of age, gender, education, and the duration of using cell phone variables on discomfort, anxiety, and insecurity due to lack of access to cell phone or other related issues. Raw data were analysed using SPSS statistical software version 21. The significance level was considered P < 0.05. RESULTS: The results of the study showed that participants with lower mean age felt more discomfort, anger, anxiety, and insecurity due to lack of access to mobile phones and other related issues compared to other people. However, no variable was statistically significant (P-value > 0.05). Except anxiety, results showed that longer duration of mobile phone use might lead to a significant decrease in discomfort, anger, and insensibility variables among users (P-value > 0.05). The incidence of nomophobia (with its different aspects) was significantly lower in females (P-value > 0.05). Also, in participants with higher educational status, the nomophobia was recorded to be more frequent (P-Value > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Understanding the pattern of nomophobia occurrence among cell phone users can facilitate our path to prevent its harms including discomfort, anger, anxiety, and feeling of insecurity among users of technology.

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Impact of Short Term Mobile Phone Abstinence on Undergraduate Medical Students: A Qualitative Study

10.37871/jbres1158 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (7) ◽

pp. 299-302

Author(s):

Venugopal V ◽

Poonguzhali S ◽

Sadhana S ◽

Venkateswaran ST ◽

Maheshkumar K

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Mobile Phone ◽

Mobile Phones ◽

Social Deprivation ◽

Comparison Method ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

Short Term ◽

Mobile Phone Addiction ◽

Unique Experience ◽

Structured Questionnaire

Background: The purpose of the current study is to investigate the perceptions of completely abstaining oneself from using a smartphone for one whole day among medical students. This study is a unique initiative and it was experimented on a particular group of adolescent college students to completely abstain from using mobile phones for one whole day, and that specific day was coined as ‘No Mobile Day’. Methods: A total of 119 residential medical students participated in the study and they were instructed to abstain from any type of mobile phone or gadget usage for a period of 24 hours and they surrendered their mobile phones. A semi-structured questionnaire with open and close-ended questions was provided to the students at the end of the 24 hour period and the aims of the questionnaire are explained clearly to the respondents. Results: In total, 12 invalid responses were deleted, leaving 107 valid responses for analysis. The qualitative data analysis is performed using a constant comparison method. Results obtained from the current findings indicate the presence of mobile phone addiction in this particular group to some extent. However, majority of the students enjoyed this unique experience of not using mobile phones and embraced the concept of “No Mobile Day’. Conclusion: Given the alarming increase in depression among adolescents and the number of psychosocial treatments being administered to young people, conducting such events would be a great boost to slowly overcome social anxiety and social deprivation.

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A study on the mobile phone usage pattern and its dependence among medical students of a college in Kerala, India

International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences ◽

10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20173573 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (8) ◽

pp. 3615 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shiny George ◽

Namitha Saif ◽

Biju Baby Joseph

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Mobile Phone ◽

Mobile Phones ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

P Value ◽

Young Generation ◽

Usage Pattern ◽

Chi Square ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Mobile Phone Usage

Background: Mobile phones have become an essential part of life. It has become an important accessory carried by everybody not only because they make it easy to keep in touch with people but because of the various facilities they offer especially the internet. The charm of mobile phone is more among young generation and the increasing use may result in dependence. Aim was to study the usage pattern and dependence of mobile phones among medical students.Methods: A cross sectional study conducted among 200 medical students and studied the pattern of usage of mobile phones, common problems encountered and its dependence using a questionnaire. Statistical analysis done using chi square test and a p value of <0.05 is taken as significant.Results: In the present study 35% of the students were frequent users that is they used for >30 minutes per day. Female students were talking more to their parents and male students to their friends followed by their lovers. 49 of them never used to attend the call while driving and 58 of them used to stop the vehicle and attend the call. (p=0.002) Mobile phone dependence was also found to be increased which is evident from ringxiety experienced by 68 students (34%) and waking up from sleep to check the mobile for call or message by 62 students(p=0.000). Out of 68 students with ringxiety, 69% were males and 37% were females (p=0.040). 82 participants (41%) commented that life without mobile will be boring and 50 (25%) said that they will feel alone or unsafe (p=0.001).Conclusions: As dependence is increasing with the excessive use of mobile phones, some interventions are required to motivate the youth against it.

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Involvement of Mobile phones as a source for Nosocomial infections

Asian Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.3126/ajms.v12i7.34788 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 126-129

Author(s):

Priyanka Shukla ◽

Bushra Khalid ◽

Shadma Yaqoob ◽

Sharique Ahmad

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Medical Students ◽

Mobile Phone ◽

Mobile Phones ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Nosocomial Infections ◽

Teaching Staff ◽

Biochemical Tests ◽

Care Workers ◽

Communication Devices

Background: Mobile phones are communication devices for communication nowadays and have emerged as a need of our life. Mobile phones also act as a reservoir for microorganisms. Human skin, wallets, bags, environment and food items are major sources of contamination for mobile phones. Medical students, healthcare workers and other non-teaching staff nowadays use mobile phones for communication in the workplace. Mobile phone contamination spreads from surfaces to hands. Aims and Objective: Our study was aimed to investigate the contamination of mobile phones by pathogens among health care workers. The objective of this study was to document for the role of mobile phones as sources in nosocomial infections. Materials and Methods: The study was done in Department of Microbiology and Pathology, Era’s Lucknow Medical College and Hospital, including teaching staffs from hospital and college, health care workers in all laboratories and wards. A total of 200 swab samples from various mobile phones of medical and technical staff of various wards, Outpatient Department Treatment, laboratories was collected after taking informed written consent from them. Culture was done on Blood Agar, MacConkey Agar, and Sabouraud’s dextrose agar. After overnight incubation, colonies were identified by Gram’s stain and Biochemical tests. Results: Highest mobile phone users are medical students, residents followed by teaching faculty. Smart phones or touch screen mobiles were used by maximum ie.90.5%. Among the isolated bacteria, Bacillus (39.5%), CONS (19%), E.coli (15.5%), Klebsiella (10.5%), Pseudomonas (5.5%), Staphylococcus aureus (4%), Enterococcus (2.5%). No growth was seen in 3.5%mobile phone sample cultures. Not a single fungal pathogen was isolated. Conclusion: The findings is the present study suggests that the mobile phones used by medical staff and health care workers act as source of transmission vehicles for pathogenic microorganisms.

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A study to evaluate mobile phone dependence among students of a medical teaching institute in Mumbai

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health ◽

10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20205703 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 253

Author(s):

Shreya Sodhani ◽

Priyanka Gupta ◽

Anuradha Kunal Shah

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Mobile Phone ◽

Mobile Phones ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Medical Teaching ◽

Mobile Phone Use ◽

Study Participants ◽

Harmful Effects

Background: Mobile phone use has become such a significant part of the life of medical students that they do not realize their level of dependence on their cell phones. It is therefore imperative to identify the threshold where mobile phones cross the line from being a helpful tool to becoming one that enslaves the users. They need to be made aware of the harmful effects of excessive use of mobile phones and counseled about ways to avoid it. This study aims to assess the prevalence and pattern of mobile phone dependence among medical students.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among MBBS students of a medical teaching institute in Mumbai. A predesigned and pretested questionnaire (NMP-Q) was sent to all the students out of which 205 students responded and consented to participate in the study.Results: Amongst all the study participants, 47.3% were males (97/205) and 52.7% were females (108/205). Mild Nomophobia was found in 19.04% students whereas 50.70% had moderate and 30.26% had severe Nomophobia. Amongst the males, 56.7% and 26.8% had moderate and severe Nomophobia, respectively while in females, moderate and severe Nomophobia was found to be 45.4% and 33.3%, respectively.Conclusions: Mobile phone dependence is prevalent amongst medical students.

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Nomophobia - mobile phone dependence, a study among students of a rural medical college

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health ◽

10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20191814 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 6 (5) ◽

pp. 2034

Author(s):

Vanita V. Myakal ◽

Vinod L. Vedpathak

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Mobile Phone ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Mobile Phones ◽

Nuclear Family ◽

Study Data ◽

Common Symptom ◽

Undergraduate Medical Students ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Medical College

Background: Nomophobia literally means ‘no mobile phobia’ that is the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. People experience symptoms of withdrawal when they are away from mobile phones. To address this problem and create awareness among medical students the present study was planned. Objectives of this study were 1)To assess prevalence of nomophobia among medical students 2) To assess pattern of mobile phone usage. 3) To know health related consequences of nomophobiaMethods: This college based cross sectional study was conducted among undergraduate medical students of SRTR Government Medical College, Ambajogai. All undergraduate students from 1st MBBS to final MBBS were enrolled in the study. Data was collected from a total of 346 medical students with a predesigned pretested questionnaire. “test of mobile phone dependence” (TMD Brief) was used to assess nomophobia. TMD brief scale was designed and validated by Chóliz et al. According to scores, medical students scoring 30-60 were labeled as having nomophobia. Data was analyzed using Epi info 7 Software.Results: The prevalence of nomophobia was 71.39%, which was more among males (73%) compared to females (69.94%). ‘Disturbance of sleep’ (41.33%) was most common symptom experienced due to mobile phone dependence. Study participants belonging to nuclear family, 3rd year MBBS batch, age group of 20-22 years and students spending Rs. >400/month on mobile phones were significantly associated with nomophobia.Conclusions: The present study has reported prevalence of nomophobia as 71.39% among undergraduate medical students which is very high. Now a day’s nomophobia is an alarming issue and it should be addressed on priority basis.

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