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How addicted are newly admitted undergraduate medical students to smartphones?: a cross-sectional study from Chitwan medical college, Nepal.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: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.

SUBMITTER: Karki S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7052978 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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How addicted are newly admitted undergraduate medical students to smartphones?: a cross-sectional study from Chitwan medical college, Nepal.

Karki Sirisa S Singh Jaya Prasad JP Paudel Gita G Khatiwada Sushma S Timilsina Sameer S

BMC psychiatry 20200302 1

<h4>Background</h4>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.<h4>Methods</h4>A pool of 250 undergraduate students completed a survey composed of socio-demographics information, smart ...[more]

PMID: 32122328

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Project description:BackgroundIn Nepal, as in other Asian countries, the issue of sexuality still remains a taboo. Despite this fact, an increasing number of sexual activities is being reported by Nepalese students. This trend warrants serious and timely attention. Due to the sensitivity of the topic of premarital sexuality, youth receive inadequate education, guidance and services on reproductive health. The main objectives of this paper are to explore the sexual behavior especially focusing on prevalence of premarital sex among college men and to investigate the factors surrounding premarital sexual behavior.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of college students was conducted in April-May 2006. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 573 male students. Association between premarital sex and the explanatory variables was assessed in bivariate analysis using Chi-square tests. The associations were further explored using multivariate logistic analysis.ResultsDespite the religious and cultural restrictions, about two-fifths of survey respondents (39%) reported that they have had premarital sex. The study has also shown that substantial proportions of students indulge in sexual activities as well as risky sexual behavior. Sex with commercial sex workers, multiple sex partners, and inconsistence use of condom with non-regular partner was common among the students. Less than two in five male students (57%) had used condom at the first sexual intercourse.The prevalence of premarital sex varied on different settings. Older students aged 20 and above were more likely to have premarital sex compared with younger students aged 15-19. Men who had liberal attitude towards male virginity at marriage were almost two times more likely to have engaged in premarital sex compared to their counterparts who have conservative attitude towards male virginity at marriage. Moreover, those students who believe in Hindu religion were more than two times (OR = 2.5) more likely to have premarital sex compared with those who follow other religions. Furthermore, those men who have close unmarried friends who have experienced premarital sexual intercourse were eight times (OR = 8.4) more likely to be sexually active compared to those who did not have such sexually active friends.ConclusionPrevalence of premarital sexual intercourse and risky sexual behavior are not uncommon in Nepal. Young people are exposed to health hazards due to their sexual behavior; hence sex education should be provided. School or college based sexuality education could benefit even out-of-school youths, because their partners often are students.

Project description:BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic is found to affect the mental health of the population. Undergraduate medical students are especially prone to mental health disorders and hence could be more vulnerable to the impact of the pandemic.MethodsA prospective longitudinal study was conducted on 217 undergraduate medical students in a medical college at Chennai, India. Depression, anxiety, and stress levels were recorded using Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 Items (DASS21) before and during the COVID-19 outbreak in India in December 2019 and June 2020, respectively. In the follow-up survey, in addition to DASS21, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index to assess sleep quality and a self-administered questionnaire to assess the impact of COVID-19 related stressors were used. The self-administered questionnaire assessed the status of COVID-19 testing, interactions with COVID-19 patients, self-perceived levels of concerns and worries related to academics (COVID-19-AA (academic apprehensions)) and those pertaining to the self and family/friends (COVID-19-GA (general apprehensions)). Cross-sectional and longitudinal comparison of overall scores of depression, anxiety, and stress and scores stratified by gender, year of study, place of residence and monthly family income were performed. Predictors for depression, anxiety, and stress during COVID-19 were investigated using adjusted binary logistic regression analysis and results were expressed as adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI). A P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsThe average scores of depression, anxiety, and stress during the baseline survey were 7.55 ± 7.86, 4.6 ± 6.19 and 7.31 ± 7.34 with the prevalence (95% Cl) of 33.2% [27-39.9%], 21.2% [16-27.2%] and 20.7% [15.5-26.7%]; in follow-up survey, the mean scores were 8.16 ± 8.9, 6.11 ± 7.13 and 9.31 ± 8.18 with the prevalence being 35.5% [29.1-42.2%], 33.2% [27-39.9%] and 24.9% [19.3-31.2%] for depression, anxiety, and stress respectively. There was a significant increase in both the prevalence and levels of anxiety and stress (P < 0.001), with depression remaining unchanged during COVID-19, irrespective of gender, year of study, place of residence and family's monthly income. Poor sleep quality, higher levels of baseline depression, anxiety, and stress, higher COVID-19-GA, COVID-19 patients in family/friends and direct interactions with COVID-19 patients were found to be significant predictors of negative mental health in undergraduate medical students. COVID-19-AA was not significantly associated with depression, anxiety, and stress.ConclusionThe COVID-19 pandemic appears to negatively affect the mental health of the undergraduate medical students with the prevalence and levels of anxiety and stress being increased, and depression symptoms remaining unaltered. Addressing and mitigating the negative effect of COVID-19 on the mental health of this population is crucial.

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How addicted are newly admitted undergraduate medical students to smartphones?: a cross-sectional study from Chitwan medical college, Nepal.

Publications

How addicted are newly admitted undergraduate medical students to smartphones?: a cross-sectional study from Chitwan medical college, Nepal.

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