PREVALENCE OF SMARTPHONE DEPENDENCY AMONG KABUL UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES STUDENTS

Abstract

Background: Smartphone dependency is a global problem that is increasing rapidly every year.   This study aims to investigate the prevalence of smartphone dependency among medical students of KUMS and to determine which groups have the highest Prevalence according to their academic year (class) and professional department (faculty).

Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, a total of 310 students were included in the fall semester of 1402 at Kabul University of Medical Sciences.   The questionnaire had two parts.   The first part gathered information about demographic characteristics and some other variables, such as having regular exercise, sleep problems, the number of smartphones, daily use of smartphones, and other variables that were thought to be related to the possible results of the research.   The second part of the questionnaire had 10 questions with a six-point Likert scale and collected information about smartphone dependency.

Result: This study shows that smartphone dependency is a common problem among students; more than half of students (52.11%) are dependent on smartphones.   Among the faculties, 69.09% of students in public health and the grades (61.9%) of students in the 3^rd class were recognized as the groups with the highest prevalence of smartphone addiction.   Almost all participants (99.65%) had a smartphone, except one person.