PREVALENCE OF NOMOPHOBIA: MOBILE PHONE DEPENDENCE AMONG MEDICAL AND DENTAL STUDENTS OF PAKISTAN

Abstract

Introduction: Mobile technology is an integrated part of today's life style. Nomophobia is described as fear and anxiety feelings that an individual feels while he/she cannot access or reach to mobile devices. Objective: To find out the prevalence of Nomophobia and to determine the factors associated with Nomophobia among medical & dental students. Methodology: A cross sectional, institutional based study was done during January to April 2019 among medical and dental students of Bahawalpur. Using systemic sampling technique, Nomophobia Scale (NMP Q) questionnaire was administered to undergraduate students. Data was analyzed by SPSS version 22. Descriptive statistics was used to calculate the score of Nomophobia and its severity. Frequency of all dependent variables was determined. Chi-square was used to identify the determinants of Nomophobia among medical and dental students. P-value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Out of 35o students, female were 200 (57%) and 230 (65.7%) from faculty of medicine. Majority of medical and dental students 371 (97%) are experiencing Nomophobia and 214 (61.0%) using mobile phone for social networking. Statistically significant difference was observed between Nomophobia and time spent on mobile phone per day. (P-value <0.05). Conclusion: Findings reveal a high level of Nomophobia prevalence among medical and dental students. We suggest to conduct further studies to investigate the impact of Nomophobia and changes imposed by mobile devices and to establish the protection strategies.