Prevalence and factors associated with nomophobia among medical and nursing students with problematic smartphone use at Moi University

Abstract

Background: Mobile phones have transformed how people converse, interact, work, learn and obtain information. In Kenya, mobile coverage is high (80%) with the majority of its users being the youth. Problematic smartphone use: the inability to control one’s smartphone use has been reported to be high among college students. If uncontrolled, it leads to nomophobia: the fear, anxiety, and panic that accompanies the inability to use one’s smartphone. This has detrimental effects on students’ social and mental well-being. Objectives: To determine: 1) the prevalence of problematic smartphone use, 2) the prevalence of nomophobia among problematic smartphone users, and 3) the factors associated with nomophobia among problematic smartphone users, at Moi university schools of nursing and medicine. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 502 university students. Multistage sampling was used to select participants and data was collected using structured self-administered questionnaires. The problematic mobile phone use (PMPUQ) and nomophobia (NMP-Q) questionnaires which have been validated and used elsewhere in Africa were used to collect the data. Data were analyzed for measures of central tendency, and chi-square and fisher’s exact tests were used for bivariate analysis. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the associations between various variables. A P-value of less or equal to 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean age of the participants was 22.6 (± 2.9) with the majority being males at 53.6%, medical students constituted 74.9%, 60.6% had owned a smartphone for more than 5 years and 93.6% spent more than 30 minutes on their smartphones daily. Overall, the prevalence of problematic smartphone use was 86.4%. Among those with problematic smartphone use, the prevalence of nomophobia was 99.8%. In this study moderate form of nomophobia was 67.2% and the mild was 29.7%. At the bivariate level, only fear of missing out (FOMO) was the factor significantly associated with nomophobia (P<0.001). On logistic regression analysis, fear of missing out (P<0.001) and the personality trait of openness to experience (P=0.015) were significantly associated with nomophobia. There were no significant differences between medical and nursing students on the prevalence of nomophobia and its associated factors. Conclusion: The prevalence of problematic smartphone use was 86.4%. Nomophobia among problematic smartphone users was 99.8%. Factors associated with nomophobia were FOMO and openness to experience. This study has demonstrated for the first time in Kenya that smartphone use is associated with serious psychological issues. Recommendations: There is a need for urgent prevention and interventions to address problematic smartphone use and nomophobia. Moi University and other institutions offering medicine and nursing courses may need to create awareness by including nomophobia in their syllabuses and offering psychological help to the affected students.