Dataset Information

Musculoskeletal symptoms among adult smartphone and tablet device users: a retrospective study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Previous literature suggests the use of smartphones and tablet devices may result in various postural and musculoskeletal disorders, predominantly of the neck and upper extremities. However, factors that contribute to the symptoms have not been adequately explored.

Methods

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and patterns (e.g. types, sites and temporal distributions) of musculoskeletal symptoms among adult smartphone and tablet device users. It also investigated device usage in terms of usage time, postures adopted during use, operational methods and purposes of device use in order to explain the symptom occurrences. Participants from eastern states of Australia retrospectively reported device usage and symptoms in the preceding two-week period, via an online survey. Data was analysed using Chi-square [?2] analysis to determine the relationships between categorical variables; Mann-Whitney U tests to compare two groups (e.g. smartphone-only users versus tablet users) where dependant variables were ordinal; independent samples t-tests if dependent variables were continuous and approximated a normal distribution; and Spearman's correlation analysis to assess the relationships between pairs of continuous or ordinal variables.

Results

Of the 207 participants, 59.9% reported musculoskeletal symptoms during or after device use; for 64.5% of these, symptoms began within the first 30?min (mostly between 15 and 30?min) of commencing usage. No statistically significant differences were observed between smartphone-only users and tablet device users in proportions reporting symptoms during device use (?2?=?.350, N?=?207, p?=?.554). The most prevalent symptom was stiffness. The most prevalent symptom occurred in the neck (18.1% in smartphone-only users and 19.3% in tablet device users). Tablet users who were 18-24?year-old and used their device for more than 30?min in each usage session more often experienced symptoms (82.4% prevalence) than those who used a device for 30?min or less (52.2%) (?2?=?4.723, N?=?63, p?=?.030).

Conclusion

These findings suggest that user age, duration and frequency of usage, and type of device are important factors to consider in the formation of evidence-based guidelines to reduce experiences of musculoskeletal symptoms among smartphone and tablet device users. If usage was capped at

SUBMITTER: Thorburn E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7796547 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Musculoskeletal symptoms among adult smartphone and tablet device users: a retrospective study.

Thorburn Ella E Pope Rodney R Wang Shaoyu S

Archives of physiotherapy 20210109 1

<h4>Background</h4>Previous literature suggests the use of smartphones and tablet devices may result in various postural and musculoskeletal disorders, predominantly of the neck and upper extremities. However, factors that contribute to the symptoms have not been adequately explored.<h4>Methods</h4>This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and patterns (e.g. types, sites and temporal distributions) of musculoskeletal symptoms among adult smartphone and tablet device users. It also investiga ...[more]

PMID: 33422154

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundDigital technologies have evolved dramatically in recent years, finding applications in a variety of aspects of everyday life. Smartphones and mobile apps are being used for a steadily increasing number of tasks, including health monitoring. A large number of nutrition and diet apps are available, and some of them are very popular in terms of user downloads, highlighting a trend toward diet monitoring and assessment.ObjectiveWe sought to explore the perspectives of end users on the features, current use, and acceptance of nutrition and diet mHealth apps with a survey. We expect that this study can provide user insights to assist researchers and developers in achieving innovative dietary assessments.MethodsA multidisciplinary team designed and compiled the survey. Before its release, it was pilot-tested by 18 end users. A 19-question survey was finally developed and was translated into six languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Greek. The participants were mainly recruited via social media platforms and mailing lists of universities, university hospitals, and patient associations.ResultsA total of 2382 respondents (1891 female, 79.4%; 474 male, 19.9%; and 17 neither, 0.7%) with a mean age of 27.2 years (SD 8.5) completed the survey. Approximately half of the participants (1227/2382, 51.5%) had used a nutrition and diet app. The primary criteria for selecting such an app were ease of use (1570/2382, 65.9%), free cost (1413/2382, 59.3%), and ability to produce automatic readings of caloric content (1231/2382, 51.7%) and macronutrient content (1117/2382, 46.9%) (ie, food type and portion size are estimated by the system without any contribution from the user). An app was less likely to be selected if it incorrectly estimated portion size, calories, or nutrient content (798/2382, 33.5%). Other important limitations included the use of a database that does not include local foods (655/2382, 27.5%) or that may omit major foods (977/2382, 41%).ConclusionsThis comprehensive study in a mostly European population assessed the preferences and perspectives of potential nutrition and diet app users. Understanding user needs will benefit researchers who develop tools for innovative dietary assessment as well as those who assist research on behavioral changes related to nutrition.

Project description:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to the worldwide implementation of unprecedented public protection measures. On the 17th of March, the French government announced a lockdown of the population for 8 weeks. This monocentric study assessed the impact of this lockdown on the musculoskeletal injuries treated at the emergency department as well as the surgical indications. We carried out a retrospective study in the Emergency Department and the Surgery Department of Nantes University Hospital from 18 February to 11 May 2020. We collected data pertaining to the demographics, the mechanism, the type, the severity, and inter-hospital transfer for musculoskeletal injuries from our institution. We compared the 4-week pre-lockdown period and the 8-week lockdown period divided into two 4-week periods: early lockdown and late lockdown. There was a 52.1% decrease in musculoskeletal injuries among patients presenting to the Emergency Department between the pre-lockdown and the lockdown period (weekly incidence: 415.3 ± 44.2 vs. 198.5 ± 46.0, respectively, p < .001). The number of patients with surgical indications decreased by 33.4% (weekly incidence: 44.3 ± 3.8 vs. 28.5 ± 10.2, p = .048). The policy for inter-hospital transfers to private entities resulted in 64 transfers (29.4%) during the lockdown period. There was an increase in the incidence of surgical high severity trauma (Injury Severity Score > 16) between the pre-lockdown and the early lockdown period (2 (1.1%) vs. 7 (7.2%), respectively, p = .010) as well as between the pre-lockdown and the late lockdown period (2 (1.1%) vs. 10 (8.3%), respectively, p = .004). We observed a significant increase in the weekly emergency department patient admissions between the early and the late lockdown period (161.5 ± 22.9, 235.5 ± 27.7, respectively, p = .028). A pronounced decrease in the incidence of musculoskeletal injuries was observed secondary to the lockdown measures, with emergency department patient admissions being halved and surgical indications being reduced by a third. The increase in musculoskeletal injuries during the late confinement period and the higher incidence of severe trauma highlights the importance of maintaining a functional trauma center organization with an inter-hospital transfer policy in case of a COVID-19s wave lockdown.

Project description:BackgroundPatient-facing digital health tools have been promoted to help patients manage concerns related to COVID-19 and to enable remote care and self-care during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also been suggested that these tools can help further our understanding of the clinical characteristics of this new disease. However, there is limited information on the characteristics and use patterns of these tools in practice.ObjectiveThe aims of this study are to describe the characteristics of people who use digital health tools to address COVID-19-related concerns; explore their self-reported symptoms and characterize the association of these symptoms with COVID-19; and characterize the recommendations provided by digital health tools.MethodsThis study used data from three digital health tools on the K Health app: a protocol-based COVID-19 self-assessment, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven symptom checker, and communication with remote physicians. Deidentified data were extracted on the demographic and clinical characteristics of adults seeking COVID-19-related health information between April 8 and June 20, 2020. Analyses included exploring features associated with COVID-19 positivity and features associated with the choice to communicate with a remote physician.ResultsDuring the period assessed, 71,619 individuals completed the COVID-19 self-assessment, 41,425 also used the AI-driven symptom checker, and 2523 consulted with remote physicians. Individuals who used the COVID-19 self-assessment were predominantly female (51,845/71,619, 72.4%), with a mean age of 34.5 years (SD 13.9). Testing for COVID-19 was reported by 2901 users, of whom 433 (14.9%) reported testing positive. Users who tested positive for COVID-19 were more likely to have reported loss of smell or taste (relative rate [RR] 6.66, 95% CI 5.53-7.94) and other established COVID-19 symptoms as well as ocular symptoms. Users communicating with a remote physician were more likely to have been recommended by the self-assessment to undergo immediate medical evaluation due to the presence of severe symptoms (RR 1.19, 95% CI 1.02-1.32). Most consultations with remote physicians (1940/2523, 76.9%) were resolved without need for referral to an in-person visit or to the emergency department.ConclusionsOur results suggest that digital health tools can help support remote care and self-management of COVID-19 and that self-reported symptoms from digital interactions can extend our understanding of the symptoms associated with COVID-19.

Project description:BackgroundPersuasion knowledge, commonly referred to as advertising literacy, is a cognitive dimension that embraces recognition of advertising, its source and audience, and understanding of advertisers' persuasive and selling intents as well as tactics. There is little understanding of users' awareness of organizations that develop or sponsor mobile health (mHealth) apps, especially in light of personal data privacy. Persuasion knowledge or recognition of a supporting organization's presence, characteristics, competencies, intents, and persuasion tactics are crucial to investigate because app users have the right to know about entities that support apps and make informed decisions about app usage. The abundance of free consumer mHealth apps, especially those in the area of fitness, often makes it difficult for users to identify apps' dual purposes, which may be related to not only helping the public manage health but also promoting the supporting organization itself and collecting users' information for further consumer targeting by third parties.ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate smartphone users' awareness of mHealth apps' affiliations with 3 different types of supporting organizations (commercial, government, and nonprofit); differences in users' persuasion knowledge and mHealth app quality and credibility evaluations related to each of the 3 organization types; and users' coping mechanisms for dealing with personal information management within consumer mHealth apps.MethodsIn-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with 25 smartphone users from a local community in midwestern United States. Interviews were thematically analyzed using inductive and deductive approaches.ResultsParticipants indicated that their awareness of and interest in mHealth app-supporting organizations were secondary to the app's health management functions. After being probed, participants showed a high level of persuasion knowledge regarding the types of app-supporting organizations and their promotional intents. They thought that commercial companies sponsored mHealth apps mostly as entertainment tools, whereas noncommercial entities sponsored mHealth apps for users' education. They assigned self-promotional motives to commercial organizations; however, they associated commercial mHealth apps with good quality and functioning. Noncommercial entities were perceived as more credible. Participants were concerned about losing control over personal information within mHealth apps supported by different organizations. They used alternative digital identities to protect themselves from privacy invasion and advertising spam. They were willing to trade some personal information for high-quality commercial mHealth apps. There was a sense of fatalism in discussing privacy risks linked to mHealth app usage, and some participants did not perceive the risks to be serious.ConclusionsThe discussion of and recommendations for the safe and ethical use of mHealth apps associated with organizations' promotional strategies and personal data protection are provided to ensure users' awareness of and enhanced control over digitalized personal information flows. The theoretical implications are discussed in the context of the Persuasion Knowledge Model and dual-processing theories.

Dataset Information

Musculoskeletal symptoms among adult smartphone and tablet device users: a retrospective study.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Musculoskeletal symptoms among adult smartphone and tablet device users: a retrospective study.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure