ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: As more people are utilizing smartphones, nomophobia is also on the rise. Several Indian studies have revealed nomophobia among young adults. The severity of nomophobia and related behaviors is underrated and often go unnoticed in India. METHODS: The sociodemographic characteristics, smartphone usage pattern, and perceived ill-health related to smartphone usage of the participants were obtained using a semistructured questionnaire. Twenty-item Nomophobia questionnaire was used to assess nomophobia. In-depth interviews were conducted among students with moderate and severe nomophobia scores. RESULTS: Among the 774 participants, 23.5% had severe nomophobia scores. Older age, male gender, duration and frequency of smartphone usage, use for social networking, checking without reason, and checking smartphone after waking up in the morning were significantly associated with nomophobia. The in-depth interview showed attributes of addiction among the students, like dependency and compulsive behavior. Students also experienced anxiety and frustration when they had to part with their smartphones. CONCLUSION: A sizable minority of the students had signs of severe nomophobia, distinct patterns of usage, and misperceptions regarding health and their usage pattern.
ABSTRACT
CONTEXT: Health-seeking behavior of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma and the diagnosis told to them by doctors before they reach tertiary care is not well documented. AIMS: This study aimed at describing the health-seeking behavior of asthma and COPD patients before they present to a tertiary care hospital in Trivandrum in South India. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The hospital-based cross-sectional study was done at one government and one private tertiary care hospital in Trivandrum, Kerala, including diagnosed COPD and asthma patients. Data were collected using a pretested semistructured questionnaire paired with the results of clinical evaluation and spirometry. RESULTS: Among the studied population, about half (53%) of the patients in this study sought initial treatment from government facilities and most patients continued the same pattern of government care or private providers till the final level. Most of them (91%) were likely to have a history of first care from modern medicine system. High proportion of patients (89%) did not have a diagnosis known after the initial consultations, among patients with asthma only 3.4% were given a correct diagnosis and only one person was given a correct diagnosis of COPD out of 129 patients with COPD as the final diagnosis. Out of 739 patients, only 135 patients had done pulmonary functtion test as investigation. CONCLUSIONS: High proportions of patients do not know the diagnosis of their disease when they reached tertiary care. Patients tended to follow the same sector of health care (private/government) where they sought initial care.
