1Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy at the Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
2OT by the Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
3OT, Master Student-Departament of Occupational Therapy, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
*Corresponding author Prof. Dr. Daniel Marinho Cezar da Cruz. Mailing Address: Rodovia Washington Luís, km 235-SP-310, Federal University of São Carlos, Department of Occupational Therapy, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil, CEP 13565-905. Telephone: 55(11) 98583-3356. E-mail: cruzdmc@gmail.com
Online published on 10 April, 2017.
Researchers have investigated the use of cell phone and its negative effects on psychosocial aspects of health, such as addition and anxiety. However, there are no records of research related to the impact of cell phone use on occupation. We aimed to describe the frequency of smartphone use in undergraduate occupational therapy students and to correlate the frequency of use with self-reports of psychosocial aspects and the areas of occupation.
An online questionnaire with 30 closed-ended questions was applied. For each psychosocial aspect and occupation category, questions were aimed at calculating the frequency of mobile phone use over the course of a day. Respondents could select from five options using a Likert Scale. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used for statistical analysis.
Seventy-two undergraduate occupational therapy students, aged 18–24 years, participated. The mean time spent using smartphones was 9.1 hours. Increased reports of psychosocial aspects correlated with longer durations of smartphone use during activities of daily living, sleep and rest, and education; all showed moderate positive correlations.
The research produced evidence about the impact of smartphone use on the occupations of the occupational therapy students.
cell phones, health occupations student, interpersonal relations, occupations, technology
