The Prevalence of Smartphone Addiction and Its Relationship with the Level of e-Health Literacy in Medical Sciences Students

Abstract

Introduction: Smartphone addiction has increased in recent years, especially with the onset of COVID-19 among students. It is possible that as the level of eHealth literacy increases among students, their addiction to smartphones decreases. This study aims to investigate this hypothesis.Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 390 medical sciences students. Two standard questionnaires were used to gather data. The first questionnaire was the Smartphone Addiction Inventory Scale, and the second questionnaire was the eHealth Literacy Scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive and analytic statistics.Results: There was no significant relationship between the gender of the participants and the mean scores of smartphone addiction or eHealth literacy. However, the relationship between the age of the participants and the mean scores of smartphone addiction or eHealth literacy was significant. Only the relationship between the educational level of the participants and the mean scores of smartphone addiction was significant. The correlation between smartphone addiction and eHealth literacy in students was not significant.Conclusion: Age and educational level were significant factors influencing smartphone addiction. To decrease smartphone addiction and increase eHealth literacy, educational programs should be implemented for medical science students, who play a crucial role as future guardians of health.