Mobile phone owners' health behaviors

Abstract

Introduction: The consistently growing number of mobile phone users has contributed to increasing interest in the effects of mobile phones on human health. Purpose: To assess the preferred health behaviors of mobile phone users. Materials and methods: The study included 175 mobile phone users and used standardized tools, such as the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) scale and the Health Behavior Inventory (HBI). Results: Most respondents had an impact on their own health (avg. 26.9 points). Respondents showed the highest level of health behaviors in relation to attitude, whereas the lowest level towards health practices. We distinguished three groups in the study population: with high (14.9%), low (47.4%), and average (37.7%) levels of health behaviors. We cannot unequivocally state that there is a statistically significant correlation between the occurrence of certain fungal genera/species on mobile phone and hand surfaces and the health locus of control. Conclusions: The respondents themselves mainly had an impact on their own health, and those in favor of this opinion attached greater importance to washing their hands. Respondents showed the highest level of health behaviors in relation to mental attitude, whereas the lowest level towards preferred health practices. Almost half of the respondents showed low levels of health behaviors, whereas almost every seventh respondent had high levels of health behaviors. No significant relationship was shown between the preferred health behaviors and the frequency of washing hands, the number of colonies and the isolation frequency of fungal strains collected from the surfaces of mobile phones and the hands of their owners.