Internet addiction among medical undergraduates in a medical college of West Bengal- a cross-sectional study

Authors

  • Susmita Chaudhuri ESI-PGIMSR & ESIC Medical College, Joka, Kolkata
  • Rekha Dutt All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalyani, West Bengal
  • Shamshad Ahmad All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, Bihar

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47203/IJCH.2019.v31i03.012

Keywords:

Internet Addiction, Medical Undergraduates

Abstract

Background: The era of 21st century is burdened with internet usage worldwide specially in the developing countries such as India. Internet addiction has been related to physical, social, psychological impairment. Aim& Objectives: To find out the prevalence of internet addiction among the medical students and the effect of internet addiction on health status among them. Settings and Design: This was an observational descriptive study of cross-sectional design conducted in a tertiary medical college of West Bengal. Material & Methods: All the undergraduate medical students were approached and interview was done using interview schedule consisting of sociodemographic characteristics, Young’s criteria of internet addiction test and Duke’s health profile screening test. Statistical analysis used: Data was analysed using SPSS version 20&presented in percentages, mean with standard deviation, ANOVA with Tukey’s Post-hoc test. Results: Total of 201 participants responded giving a response rate of about 50%. The distribution of respondents as per Young’s criteria of internet addiction which showed that majority of the respondents were mild addicted (58.7%) & moderate addicted (15%).Comparison of Duke health profile score across various internet addicts where physical health score differs significantly among the non-addicted (81.42+20.02) vs mildly addicted (67+20.36)& moderately addicted (63.31+ 20.15) participants (p=0.00). Mental health score also differs considerably among the non-addicts (78.16+18.36) vs mildly addicts (67+18.28) & moderately addicts (61.87+18.33) (p= 0.00). Conclusions: A good number of medical students were addicted to internet that requires timely remedial action. Educational institutions had to formulate strategies so that proper action could be taken.

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Published

2019-09-30

How to Cite

1.
Chaudhuri S, Dutt R, Ahmad S. Internet addiction among medical undergraduates in a medical college of West Bengal- a cross-sectional study. Indian J Community Health [Internet]. 2019 Sep. 30 [cited 2024 Oct. 16];31(3):371-5. Available from: https://iapsmupuk.org/journal/index.php/IJCH/article/view/1093

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