Prevalence and Predictors of Smartphone Addiction among Medical Students in China during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

Abstract Objective Smartphone addiction is a common condition among medical students. Recent studies have reported the prevalence of Smartphone addiction among students, but there are fewer studies on the situation and influencing factors of smartphone addiction among medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. In our study, we aimed to assess the prevalence of Chinese medical students’ smartphone addiction and its Predictors. Method A cross-sectional survey was conducted from March 13 to 30, 2022, by administering an online questionnaire to the students of Wannan Medical College. Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS ver. 20.0. Results Of 3227 students who completed the survey, 1,968 (61.0%) had smartphone addiction. Gender (p=0.000), adaptation to the online learning (p=0.001), perceived study pressure (p=0.000), high psychological stress (p=0.000), academic burnout (p=0.000) and eHealth Literacy (p=0.000) strong associations of smartphone addiction. PSS-4 and academic burnout were highly correlated with smartphone addiction （P<0.001）. EHealth Literacy was a protective factor of smartphone addiction. Conclusion This survey shows that the Chinese medical students had a very high rate of smartphone addiction during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about changes in the way medical students learn and increased associated, which has exacerbated the already existing smartphone addiction among medical college students. Therefore, medical colleges educators develop educational strategies to reduce smartphone addiction is essential.