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Navas-Echazarreta N, Juárez-Vela R, Subirón-Valera AB, Rodríguez-Roca B, Antón-Solanas I, Fernández-Rodrigo MT, de Viñaspre-Hernandez RR, Sabater AM, Echániz-Serrano E, Saus-Ortega C, Santolalla-Arnedo I, Satústegui-Dordá PJ. Nomophobia in university students during COVID-19 outbreak: a cross-sectional study. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1242092. [PMID: 37808980 PMCID: PMC10556494 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1242092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Currently, access to the Internet through smartphones has led to their functions going beyond purely communicative ones, allowing the management of massive, instantaneous, and easily accessible information. This research analyzed the differences in smartphone use and the prevalence of nomophobia, mainly according to gender and university degree of Health Sciences students at the University of Zaragoza during the COVID-19 confinement in Spain. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample of 318 first and second-grade students, who completed an online questionnaire sent to their institutional email, which included sociodemographic questions, other questions about smartphone use, and the Nomophobia Questionnaire (NMP-Q) scale. Results Compared to men (n = 58), women (n = 260) were more likely to use their smartphones more intensively daily, as were occupational therapy students compared to the other degree programs studied. The prevalence of nomophobia was moderate, being around the risk of suffering from it. No significant differences in scores for nomophobia among students were found according to gender, university degree, or population nucleus for the nomophobia scores of the students. Discussion The present study extends the existing literature on nomophobia by providing results of interest in terms of gender and the exceptional healthcare context of COVID-19. The results suggest that despite intense daily smartphone use young people did not reach severe nomophobia figures. This fact underlines the need for appropriate and healthy technology education. Understanding the characteristics of the populations that use the smartphone the most may help to analyze nomophobia rates and the massive use of the device.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noelia Navas-Echazarreta
- Doctoral Program in Health Sciences and Sports, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of La Rioja, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain
- Grupac Research Group, Department of Nursing, University of La Rioja, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain
| | - Raúl Juárez-Vela
- Grupac Research Group, Department of Nursing, University of La Rioja, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of La Rioja, Logroño, Spain
| | - Ana Belén Subirón-Valera
- SAPIENF (B53_23R) Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Beatriz Rodríguez-Roca
- SAPIENF (B53_23R) Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Isabel Antón-Solanas
- SAPIENF (B53_23R) Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | | | - Regina Ruiz de Viñaspre-Hernandez
- Grupac Research Group, Department of Nursing, University of La Rioja, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of La Rioja, Logroño, Spain
| | | | - Emmanuel Echániz-Serrano
- SAPIENF (B53_23R) Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Carles Saus-Ortega
- University of Valencia, Adscript Centre of la Fe, Research Group in Art and Science in Care, Institute for Health Research La Fe (IISLAFE), University School of Nursing La Fe, Valencia, Spain
| | - Iván Santolalla-Arnedo
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of La Rioja, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain
- Grupac Research Group, Department of Nursing, University of La Rioja, Logroño, La Rioja, Spain
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