Assessment of Knowledge, Beliefs and Level of Internet Addiction among Nursing Students at Minia University

Abstract

Background: Worldwide, Internet addiction is a major and serious challenge. With uncontrolled use of the internet, university students may suffer from academic problems, distractions, and social isolation. Aim: This study aimed to assess knowledge, beliefs, and level of Internet addiction among nursing students at Minia University. The Health Belief Model was used as a theoretical framework in the study. Design: Descriptive research design. Setting: The study was conducted at the faculty of nursing at Minia University. Sample: Three hundred and seventy (370) students were included using a stratified random sample. Tools: Data collected using two tools, the 1st tool was a self-administered questionnaire based on The Health Belief Model to assess the students' knowledge and beliefs about Internet addiction, and the 2nd tool was the Arabic version of the Internet Addiction Test to assess the students' level of Internet addiction. Results: 91.1% of the participants had poor knowledge about Internet addiction. Regarding health beliefs toward IA, 66.5% had low perceived susceptibility, 64.1% had low perceived severity, 53.5% had high perceived barriers, 56.8% had high perceived benefits, 64.3% had low perceived cues to action, and 73% had low perceived self-efficacy. Concerning the level of Internet addiction, 44.6% had a mild level followed by 38.9% had a moderate level and 3.5% had a severe level of Internet addiction. Conclusion: The majority of participants had poor knowledge and low Health Belief Model constructs toward Internet addiction except for perceived barriers. The majority had mild and moderate levels of Internet addiction and the minority had a severe Internet addiction. Recommendation: strategies should be developed to increase awareness and decrease the level of Internet addiction among university students.