Frequency and risk factors of internet addiction in medical students: a cross-sectional study

Author(s):  
Amina Ehsan ◽  
Farwa Iqbal ◽  
Muhammad Azeem Rao

Abstract Objectives: The objectives of the study were to find out the prevalence of internet addiction and to determine the risk factors associated with internet addiction in medical students. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi from July 2018 to August 2019. Our study population included medical students from all the years of MBBS aged 18-25 years, who have been using the internet for the past two years or more. A Stratified random sampling technique was used. Seventy-six self-administered questionnaires were distributed in each year. Data was entered and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 25). Results: Out of the total sample of 380, the prevalence came out to be 90% (n=342). Two hundred and twenty-two 222 (58.4%) had mild, 115 (30.3%) had moderate, six (1.6%) had severe and 37 (9.7%) had no addiction. Out of the risk factors online friendships (p= 0.007), online relationships (P=0.035), online chatting (p= 0.009), online shopping (p= 0.009), online games (p=0.023) and online series/movies (p< 0.000) were statistically significant. Conclusion: The prevalence of internet addiction is high among medical students, which is mostly of a mild type. Internet addiction is more common in males and non-hostel residents. Other significant risk factors are online relationships, online gaming, and online series/movies. Keywords: Prevalence, internet, medical students, risk factors. Continuous...

F1000Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 797
Author(s):  
Mitesh Karn ◽  
Dipendra Kandel ◽  
Nuwadatta Subedi

Background: Substance abuse by medical students poses a significant risk not only on their personal life but also on their professional life by putting their patients at risk. Our study aims to find out the prevalence of substance abuse and factors associated with it among medical students. Methods: A descriptive, online-questionnaire based, cross-sectional study was carried out at Gandaki Medical College, a medical school in Gandaki Province of Nepal. Whole sampling technique was used. SPSS-25.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics were used for analyzing demographic and substance abuse related variables. Chi square and Fishers exact test was used to find out if any differences existed in substance abuse by demographic characteristics. Results: Among 420 eligible participants, 219 participated in the survey (response rate: 52.2%). Alcohol was the most commonly used substance with overall lifetime prevalence of 58% followed by cigarette smoking and illegal drug abuse at 21.9% and 13.7%, respectively. The abuse of substances was significantly higher (p<0.05) in males, who were offered substances by friends, and amongst study participants who worked with an intoxicated colleague. The most common reason for substance abuse was “For pleasure, curiosity or to go along with friends” (23%, n=18). Major and minor dysfunction due to alcohol abuse was reported by 8(3.7%) and 33(15.1%) participants, while the same dysfunctions due to drug abuse were reported by 1(0.5%) and 14(6.4%) participants, respectively. Conclusions: The prevalence of substance abuse was high among medical students and was found to be associated with male gender, if offer of substances were made by friends, and amongst those who worked with an intoxicated colleague. This problem of substance abuse among medical students should be addressed timely as failing to do so might have serious consequences on the healthcare system of the country.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hlma Ismail ◽  
Mosa Shibani ◽  
Hanaa Wael Zahrawi ◽  
Ali Fouad Slitin ◽  
Mhd Amin Alzabibi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and the second leading cause of cancer death globally. Since early diagnosis is crucial to reducing mortality, high levels of knowledge regarding general information, risk factors, and symptoms are required among healthcare professionals to deliver breast cancer care. This study aimed to determine Syrian medical students’ knowledge about breast cancer in the fields of general knowledge, common clinical features, and risk factors. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Syrian Private University in October 2019 (Breast Cancer Awareness Month), Damascus, during the Syrian war crisis. Data were collected through self-administered surveys and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25.0 (SPSS Inc., United States). The chi-square test was applied to assess the relationship between the level of knowledge and gender. One way analysis of variance was performed to assess the overall differences in mean knowledge score by study year, GPA, mother’s education, and source of information. Unpaired Student’s T-test was used to analyze the differences in mean knowledge scores (continuous variable) based on smoking status and alcohol consumption. Results Of 320 students, 301 completed the questionnaire (response rate = 94.0%), of which 179(59.5%) were males. The study revealed above-average knowledge scores (total mean = 68.4%) regarding breast cancer, general information (71.9%), common clinical features (71.6%), and risk factors (71.6%). Clinical students (4th, 5th, and 6th years) scored higher compared with pre-clinical students (1st, 2nd, and 3rd years). Conclusion This study showed above-average knowledge scores regarding breast cancer. More efforts to correct misinformation, through reassessing the university curriculum and promoting awareness about breast cancer are required.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
pp. 0
Author(s):  
AnantprakashSiddharthkumar Saraf ◽  
HarshalShriram Sathe ◽  
Manoj Talapalliwar ◽  
Vrushti Patil ◽  
Vinay Kumar ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Priyanka . ◽  
R K Pal

Introduction: Excessive use of the Internet affects the academic achievements of students. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Internet addiction and the pattern of Internet use among undergraduate medical students. Method: This analytical cross-sectional study conducted on 177 undergraduate medical students in batch 2016, 2017 and 2018, who were included in this study by convenience sampling method. The study tool was  Young’s Internet Addiction Test containing questions regarding the pattern of Internet use. Data entry and analysis was done by using Microsoft excel and SPSS version 21. Qualitative data were described in terms of frequency and percentage while quantitative data were expressed as mean and standard deviation. Chi square test and multiple linear regression were used to find out the relationship between various factors and Internet Addiction (IA).  The significance level was considered 0.05. Results: The mean age of the participants was 20.3 years (± 1.19), and 62 % of the subjects were males. The prevalence rate of Internet Addiction (IA) was found to be 56.5% and 42.9% of them were in mild and 13.6% were in moderate addiction category. Being male (β= -0.143, p=0.038), staying at a hostel (β= 0.167, p=0.018), not having a time preference for using the Internet (β= -0.174, p=0.012), spending more time on the Internet everyday (β= 0.201, p=0.000), being always online (β= 0.276, p=0.000) and more years of using the Internet (β= 0.175, p=0.015) were significantly related with IA in students. Conclusion: A large proportion of medical students were found to be addicted to the Internet. Therefore, this issue should be addressed immediately.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salih Boushra Hamza ◽  
Yassin A. Abdalla ◽  
Tibyan Hassan Mustafa Alkabashi ◽  
Ahmed A. M. Mustafa ◽  
Khadija Ala Abdelmaqsud Muhmmed ◽  
...  

Abstract Background:In general, the emergence of new technologies such as the internet, social networks and providing opportunities to facilitate and improve global communications quality have created some threats, as Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD), which is an emerging psychological problem across the globe. Young defined it as “an individual’s inability to control his or her use of the internet, which eventually causes psychological, social, school, and/or work difficulties in a person’s life”. Students are among the most critical internet and social networks, particularly during the coronavirus recent pandemic. The prevalence of internet addiction and its association with academic performance among Sudanese medical students has not been discussed yet. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the effects of internet addiction on medical students’ academic performance. Methods:This study was an observational descriptive cross-sectional study conducted on medical students at Omdurman Islamic University in Sudan from 321 sample size by stratified random technique. Data were collected using a questionnaire that contains four sections; the last one is the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), a 20-item scale that measures the presence and severity of internet addiction, developed by Young. Data were analyzed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 24. A P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results:Out of 321 medical students, 186 (57.9%) were females, and 135 (42.1%) were males, with no general differences regarding the addiction score. Social media was the leading platform for internet use purposes (88%), mean internet addiction score was 47.7; most of the respondents (55.8%) fit into the moderate-level addiction. There is an association between the duration of internet time consumption and the IAT score, with 5-6 hour/day scoring the highest (mean 50.1 ± 14.3) (P-value 0.001). There is a significant association between platforms that consume most of the participant time and IAT score, with games scoring the highest (IAT mean 56.4 ± 15) (P-value 0.001). There is an insignificant negative correlation between Internet Addiction Test (IAT) grade and CGPA (p-value 0.07).Conclusion:The mean internet addiction score is 47.7, and most of the respondents (55.8%) show moderate-level addiction. The Internet Addiction Test’s application to medical students’ sample concerning the academic performance found no significant association between Internet Addiction Test score and CGPA score.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marwan A Bakarman

INTRODUCTION: Excessive internet use can lead to negative outcomes such as poor academic performance and social isolation. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of the internet addiction and to explore the factors associated with depression among medical students, King Abdul-Aziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.METHODS: The total number of senior medical students was 1049 in the academic years 2013-2014. An analytical cross sectional study was adopted. Stratified sampling technique with proportional allocation to recruit medical students. A self-administered questionnaire was used which adopted the 20-item Young’s internet addiction test (IAT) to explore the internet addictions, while the existence of depression was assessed using the centre for epidemiological studies depression scale (CES-D).RESULTS: The study included 161 medical students, making the response rate of 78.2%. Majority (94.4%) had computer and 99.4% were using the internet. Community sites ranked first (40.6%), whereas general sites, chatting and emailing were preferred by 14.4%, 10% and 10% respectively. Internet addiction was reported among only five students (3.1%). Possible addiction was reported among 74 students (46.3%). Male students (66.2%) were more addicts to internet than females (44.6%) (P=0.007). The 4th year students reported the highest rate of internet addiction or possible addiction (70.3%) (P=0.003). All internet addicts were depressed, whereas 74.1% of possible addicts and 62.2% of non addicts were depressed (P=0.088). However, the trend in the prevalence of depression in the three different situations was statistically significant (P=0.034).CONCLUSION: Internet addiction is growing hidden problem, which has psychological and social impact on medical students and requires preventive strategies and therapeutic interventions.


Author(s):  
G.V. Abhilash ◽  
S.V.V. Jagadeesh ◽  
M. Vijaya Gopal ◽  
K. Santosh Kumar

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Enrique Berner ◽  
Jaime Santander ◽  
Ana María Contreras ◽  
Teresita Gómez

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