Research Journal of Medical Sciences
ISSN: Online 1993-6095ISSN: Print 1815-9346
171
Views
6
Downloads
Abstract
During the COVID‐19 lock down period, smartphones have become an inseparable part of everyone’s life including doctors. Mobile technology has helped physicians to facilitate clinical decision‐making. Yet the usage of smartphones may lead to distractions during medical procedures and patient care. These distractions can cause serious impacts on their physical and psychological well‐being as well as on the patients they take care of. While smartphone use is beneficial in numerous ways, there are disadvantages, including reduced work efficacy. To estimate the proportion of doctors addicted to smartphones during the COVID‐19 Pandemic and assess the positive and negative impacts of smartphone use. We conducted a cross‐sectional study among 150 doctors working in Government and Private Hospitals of Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu. Among the doctors, 31.3% were from government hospitals and 52% were from private hospitals and 16.7% were self‐employed. Out of the 150 doctors, 68.7% used smartphones more than 2 hrs per day, 47.3%of participants felt that they have an urge to use their mobile phones, 42.7% of participants felt that their mental/physical health is affected by smartphones and 60% felt their quality of sleep is attenuated. A significant association was found between the negative impact of smartphone usage and the specialty of job (Allopathic/AYUSH) (p = 0.001) and marital status of the study participants (p = 0.029). More than half of the doctor population is addicted to smartphones. Type of specialty and marital status are found to be significantly associated with smartphone use.
How to cite this article:
Vishnu G. Ashok, C. S. Jayasree, Indu K. Pisharody, A. K. Bhuvanesh and G. T. Vaisakh. Impact of Smart Phone use Among Doctors During COVID‐19 Pandemic in Rural Tamilnadu, India.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36478/10.59218/makrjms.2023.8.165.169
URL: https://www.makhillpublications.co/view-article/1815-9346/10.59218/makrjms.2023.8.165.169