ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SMARTPHONE ADDICTION AND WRIST PAIN AMONG HEALTHCARE PROFESSION STUDENTS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BENIN,BENIN- CITY

ABSTRACTS

Background/Aim: Smartphones have become integral to daily life, but their excessive use can lead to addiction. There appears to be a gap in research specifically exploring the association between smartphone addiction and wrist pain among medical students who play a crucial role in public health education indicating a need for further investigation to understand the potential musculoskeletal impacts of smartphone overuse in this demographic. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the association between smartphone addiction and wrist pain among healthcare profession students. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 367 healthcare profession students in the University of Benin, Benin-City. A pro-forma was used to document sociodemographic data of respondents. The smartphone addiction was assessed using the short version of the smartphone addiction scale. The Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation was used to assess wrist pain while Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used to assess the prevalence of wrist pain. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics of Chi square with level of significance set at P < 0.05. Results: 200 (54.5%) of the 367 recruited respondents were female, and 305 (83.1%) were in the 18–24 years age range. Of those surveyed, 89 (54.6%) reported experiencing pain in their wrists as a result of smartphone addiction. The score of the respondents on the Short Version Smartphone Addiction Scale ranged between 10.0 and 57.0 with a mean value of 30.21 ± 10.12. The prevalence of smartphone addiction among the respondents was 44.4% (163 respondents). There was a significant association between smartphone addiction and wrist pain among the respondents (X2 = 21.008, p < 0.001). Conclusion: There is a moderate prevalence of smartphone addiction and moderate prevalence of wrist pain among healthcare profession students. Smartphone addiction is associated with increased wrist pain among healthcare profession students. Keywords: Smartphone addiction, wrist pain, healthcare profession st