An institution-based study to assess the prevalence of Nomophobia and its related impact among medical students in Southern Haryana, India

Abstract

Background: Inappropriate usage of mobile phones is very hazardous for school and college students as it results in poor academic performance due to the poor concentration during classes or lectures over use of mobile phones, accidents due to reduced concentration while driving, and poor social relations due to preference for mobile usage and avoiding nearby people. Aim: Considering the above facts, the present study was conducted with an aim to estimate the prevalence of nomophobia among students and interns of medical college and its negative impacts on their sleep quality, and academic performance. Methods: The present study was conducted at SHKM GMC, Nalhar, Nuh from November to December 2018 among 600 MBBS students and interns who were using mobile phones using a pretested, predesigned, and standardized questionnaire. Test results with P value less than 0.05 only were considered statistically significant. Results: Nearly two fifth of the study subjects (40.1%) were found to have nomophobic, with scores more than twenty-four. The Pearson's chi square analysis reflected that most of the academic performance variables such as decline in study habits and grades, reduced concentration, and coming late for classes have a statistically significant ( P = 0.000) association with nomophobe score. Conclusion: In conclusion, a significant burden of mobile phone addiction and a tendency for impaired control that compromises the health and wellness were prevalent in medical students. Measures need to be taken to address this challenge in view of the current era of growing information technology.

The Association between Symptoms of Nomophobia, Insomnia and Food Addiction among Young Adults: Findings of an Exploratory Cross-Sectional Survey

“…This is consistent with several studies, which demonstrated a strong association between nomophobia and sleep problems (mainly insomnia) [3,[27][28][29][30]48,49]. A direct relationship was found between the nomophobia score of medical students and sleep quality, measured by the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) [50]. Likewise, a one-year prospective study among young Swedish adults revealed increased mobile phone addiction behaviors in individuals with higher baseline scores of sleep problems [51].…”

The Prevalence of Nomophobia by Population and by Research Tool: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression

“…India contributed with seven studies [2,3,[15][16][17][18][19][20], Iran [21,22], Turkey [1,23], and Pakistan [24,25] contributed each with two studies, and Australia [26], Bahrain [8], Israel [27], Italy [28], Kuwait [29], and USA [30] each contributed with one study. Fourteen studies [2,[15][16][17][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][28][29][30] (70%) of the studies recruited university students as participants, while four studies [8,18,27,28] (20%) recruited young adults and only two studies [1,3] (10%) recruited high school students. The NMP-Q was used in 12 studies [1,3,8,17,19,[24][25][26]…”

“…The fact that the majority of the studies included in this systematic review and meta-analysis have used the same well-established measurement tool, which is the NMP-Q, has increased the quality and simultaneously decreased the bias of the study. The pooled prevalence of severe nomophobia, using the NMP-Q tool, was estimated to be 16 Most of the studies that were included in the analysis were conducted in India and the Middle East. On the contrary, the lack of studies reported from other regions, such as Eastern Europe and China, has limited the reliability of the global pooled prevalence obtained from this study.…”

The Prevalence of Nomophobia and Its Impact on Academic Performance of Medical Undergraduates at the College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah City, Saudi Arabia

“…The main drawbacks of nomophobia among students are sleep disturbances and poor academic achievement. A study done in India in 2020 shows that addiction to mobile phones reflects poor academic performance for school and college students [ 6 ]. Nomophobia affects not only the academic performance of students but also their lives with anxiety, depression, high stress levels, low physical activity, and a higher body mass index (BMI) [ 7 , 9 ].…”