Assessing the Impact of Smartphone Addiction among medical and health faculty students at university of Kirkuk

Abstract

Background: Modern smartphones have become an integral part of daily life, particularly among medical students who experience significant academic pressure and stress This study aimed to assess the extent of students' impact from smartphone addiction and investigate its association with their demographic characteristics, socio-economic status, and associated risk factors.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used in this study. 772 students from all stages of study in the medical faculties of Kirkuk University. using Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS), Nordic questionnaires for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms, and the severity of digital vision syndrome (DES) was measured using 12 items, The Data was analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 22.

Results: The result of the current study shows that 55.1% were female and the male were 347 (44.9%).  the average age of the students was 21.09 ± 1.75. 46.80% of the sample were overweight and obese. around 343(44.4%) sampled are assigned intermittent sleep. while significant relationships are obtained with each of Socio-Economic Status, specialization, using Smartphone in 24hrs, sleeping hours during a day   in at least at P<0.05. an overall through global mean of score for the studied domains was assessed in compact form a moderate level, with percentile ranged responses from 5.65 to 80.61 for the studied sample.

Conclusion: Our study substantiated that health and medical students are progressing into a state of addiction. no significant difference between males and females when considering of smartphone addiction. The age group most affected was individuals aged 22-23. while the Individuals with moderate to high SES are more susceptibility to addiction. Smartphone use should be limited. To increase awareness and knowledge about the detrimental impacts of smartphone addiction, workshops, courses, and conferences should be held.