Irrational fear of being away from smartphone among health-care workers: An observational study

Abstract

Introduction: Nomophobia, i.e., No mobile phone phobia, is the irrational fear of being out of mobile phone contact. Mostly youth get very anxious on not being able to use their smartphone. Thus, identification of the extent of the problem in this population might be helpful. Aims: The aims of this study were to find the presence of nomophobia and its severity among the medical students, postgraduate residents, and faculty and to assess the association with certain demographic factors, mobile phone use-related factors, and nomophobia among them. Settings and Design: This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted in a medical college and tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: An online survey was conducted by using Google Forms and utilizing validated No Mo Nomophobia- Questionnaires. A self-reported questionnaire inclusive of demographic data, information regarding smartphone use, and factors of nomophobia was administered. A total of 446 people participated in this survey. SPSS version 20 of the institute was used. Levene's test for equality of variances, independent t-test for equality of means, and analysis of variance were used for statistical analysis. P 50 applications in smartphone showed higher scores of nomophobia. Living arrangements, number of phones and SIM cards, and duration of cell phone use had no significant impact on nomophobia scores. Conclusion: A significant prevalence of nomophobia was noted among medical graduates, which highlights the need for early identification and intervention.