Relationship between Cellphone Overuse with Sleep Quality and Self-efficacy in Clinical Performance of Nurse and Midwifery Students.

Background: Identification of the factors related to students' academic success and clinical self-efficacy plays a significant role in their ability to provide independent patient care. The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship of cell phone overuse with sleep quality and self-efficacy in the clinical performance of nursing and midwifery students.

Materials and methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 211 nursing and midwifery students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2021-2022. Data collection tools included the Cell-Phone Over-Use Scale (COS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Self-Efficacy in Clinical Performance (SECP). Data were analyzed using stata-16 software.

Results: 28% of students had cellphone overuse and 63% had poor sleep quality and 17.10% had low self-efficacy in clinical performance. Students with cellphone overuse had higher levels of poor sleep quality compared to those with normal levels of cellphone use (p < 0.05). Moreover, those with poor sleep quality had lower self-efficacy for clinical performance (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Cell phone overuse can reduce self-efficacy in clinical performance by interfering with students' sleep quality. Thus, students should be trained to use cell phones more appropriately.