Relationship of Problematic Smartphone Use, Sleep Quality, and Daytime Fatigue Among Quarantined Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic brought about great transformation to medical education mode. Although mobile communication devices played a crucial role in online learning among quarantined university students, the potential smartphone addition problems, negative health behaviors, and psychological symptoms need considerable attention. This study examined the relationship of problematic smartphone use (PSU), sleep quality, and daytime fatigue among medical students. Methods: A web-based survey was conducted in six polyclinic hospitals in Beijing between February and May 2020. 1016 participants (26.01 ± 2.46 years, 65.16% female) completed self-report measurements including Short Version Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS-SV), Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), and Subjective Fatigue Scale (FS). Spearman correlation coefficients and multiple regression models were used to analyze the association among PSU, sleep quality, and daytime fatigue. We used structural equation modeling to test the mediating effect of sleep quality between PSU and daytime fatigue. Results: 49.70% of the participants had PSU. Significant positive correlations were found among SAS-SV, AIS, and FS scores (r = 0.35-0.61, P S < 0.001). Subjects with PSU were more likely to report sleep disturbance (ß = 1.07, P < 0.001, OR = 2.91, 95%CI = 2.17-3.91), physical fatigue (ß = 1.16, P < 0.001, OR = 3.18, 95%CI = 2.45-4.15), and mental fatigue (ß = 0.88, P < 0.001, OR = 2.42, 95%CI = 1.86-3.14). The indirect effect of PSU on physical fatigue and mental fatigue mediated by sleep quality accounted for 50.03 and 45.43% of the total effect, respectively. Conclusions: PSU was significantly associated with sleep disturbance and fatigue among medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sleep quality mediated the relationship between PSU and daytime fatigue. Our results provide valuable information for maintaining medical students' health status and constructing online education structures.

Factors that influence full-time MPH Students' willingness in China: would You apply again for an MPH graduate degree if you had another opportunity?

BACKGROUND: Current and emerging challenges to public health in the 21st century are vastly different from those faced in previous centuries. And the shortage of health personnel and their low level of educational qualifications hindered the development of Chinese public health services. In order to fulfill this requirement, the Ministry of Education initiated a full-time, Master of Public Health (MPH) graduate programme in 2009. This study aimed to evaluate the level of graduate students' satisfaction with full-time Master of Public Health (MPH) education in China, and whether they would apply again for an MPH graduate degree if they had another opportunity to do so, as well as to identify the factors influencing their decision-making process. METHODS: An anonymous, web-based survey questionnaire containing 61 items was distributed to 702 MPH students in 35 universities or colleges. The questions covered the categories of student admission, training goals, lecture courses, practical training, research activities and mentorship. Levels of satisfaction were compared between MPH students who would choose MPH again as their graduate degree if they had another opportunity to do so and those who would not. Key influencing factors of training satisfaction were identified using logistic regression models. RESULTS: A total of 65.10% of the participants would apply again for MPH education if they had another opportunity to do so. The factors influencing students' willingness included their university type, the time since admission and their initial willingness. In addition, the four common factors (admissions & lecture courses, research activities & mentorship, practical training and training goals) emerging from factor analysis were all significantly positively correlated with student willingness (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Most MPH students surveyed were highly satisfied with their MPH education and, although they advocated for improvements and reforms in some aspects, they would still choose MPH as their graduate degree again if they had another opportunity to do so.

[Study on elasticity of medical service demand at the township level in China].

OBJECTIVE: To find out the economic laws regulating medical service demand in accordance with influencing factors at the township level, thus to provide references for further adjusting the medical service demand reasonably in the future. METHODS: The model of medical service demand was established to measure the elasticity of demand in 49 township health clinics in 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007. RESULTS: The price elasticity of outpatient and inpatient demand was stable during the four periods, and the average value was -0.029 and -0.132 respectively; the average value of income elasticity was 0.973 and 0.977, registering a downward trend in general. CONCLUSION: The medical service demand at the township level is price inelastic, indicating that it is a necessity for rural residents. The downward trend of income elasticity under the influence of some health policies illustrates a lightening in economic burden for medical service demand among rural residents in township health clinics.