Prevalence and Predictors of Smartphone Addiction among Medical Students in China during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study (preprint)

Objective Smartphone addiction is a common condition among medical students. Recent studies have reported the prevalence of Smartphone addiction among students, but there are fewer studies on the situation and influencing factors of smartphone addiction among medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. In our study, we aimed to assess the prevalence of Chinese medical students’ smartphone addiction and its Predictors. Method A cross-sectional survey was conducted from March 13 to 30, 2022, by administering an online questionnaire to the students of Wannan Medical College. Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS ver. 20.0. Results Of 3227 students who completed the survey, 1,968 (61.0%) had smartphone addiction. Gender (p=0.000), adaptation to the online learning (p=0.001), perceived study pressure (p=0.000), high psychological stress (p=0.000), academic burnout (p=0.000) and eHealth Literacy (p=0.000) strong associations of smartphone addiction. PSS-4 and academic burnout were highly correlated with smartphone addiction （P<0.001）. EHealth Literacy was a protective factor of smartphone addiction. Conclusion This survey shows that the Chinese medical students had a very high rate of smartphone addiction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about changes in the way medical students learn and increased associated, which has exacerbated the already existing smartphone addiction among medical college students. Therefore, medical colleges educators develop educational strategies to reduce smartphone addiction is essential.

Prevalence and factors associated with insomnia among medical students in China during the COVID-19 pandemic: characterization and associated factors (preprint)

Background Insomnia has become an important issue in recent years. Insomnia is affected by many factors. Previous research has shown that during the COVID-19 epidemic, there would be a long-term negative effect on the mental health of medical college students. The state of medical college students’ insomnia directly determines the results of medical education and the career development prospects of the medical students themselves. Therefore, it is very important to understand the insomnia situation of medical students in the post-epidemic era. Methods This study was conducted 2 years after the global COVID-19 pandemic (April 1-April 23, 2022). The study used an online questionnaire, administered through a web-based survey platform. The Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), Fear of COVID‐19 Scale (FCV-19S), GAD-2, PHQ-2, and socio-demographic information were surveyed by the Questionnaire Star platform. Results The prevalence of insomnia was 27.8.0% (636/2289). Chi-squared tests revealed that, loneliness(P<0.001), depression and anxiety co-morbidities(P<0.001), age(P<0.001), and grade(P<0.001) strong associations of insomnia. Fear of COVID-19 was highly correlated with insomnia (P<0.001). adapting to online classes(P<0.001) was a protective factor of smartphone addiction. Conclusions The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of insomnia and identify associated influencing factors among college students in Anhui Province, China. This survey shows that Insomnia was highly prevalent among the Chinese medical college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. These negative insomnia issues could decline learning enthusiasm, productivity, and eventually, affecting the medical college student academic performance. Therefore, the government and schools should formulate targeted programs and strategies to reduce insomnia among medical college students.