90pc of nurses use cellphones while assisting surgeries: Study

Around 90 per cent of nurses and 50 per cent of operation theatre technicians employed in various Delhi hospitals use their mobile phones while assisting surgeries, apart from 10 per cent of doctors who check SMSes during the procedure, a study has claimed.

The three-month survey by the Heart Care Foundation of India was conducted on 87 family physicians from across Delhi, besides 25 nurses and operation theatre personnel were also part of the exercise. It was conducted from February to April this year.

The survey also found that 26 per cent doctors suffer from severe mobile-induced anxiety. Surveyors calculated social media addiction score among doctors and found that around 26 per cent of them were having high score, indicating presence of social media addiction among them.

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The survey was conducted to ascertain the psychological and behavioural changes due to cellphone usage.

"While people are concerned about cancer, which still remains a controversial issue, there are other future health problems caused by use of mobile phones, especially smart phones."

"Prolonged use of mobile phones can cause neck pain, dry eyes, anxiety, phobias and insomnia. The purpose of the survey was to highlight such affects of the use of mobile phones," Dr KK Aggarwal, President, HCFI, said, while releasing the draft based on survey findings.

Dr Narendra Saini, Secretary General, Indian Medical Association, Dr Sanjay Gupta, senior opthalmic surgeon at Moolchand Medicity, Dr J Nagpal, eminent psychiatrist and Dr AK Grover, senior eye specialist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, were also present during the release.

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The study highlighted that 43 per cent of family physicians surveyed experienced high levels of anxiety, stress or insecurity whenever they were without their cellphones and equal percentage of physicians suffers from nomophobia -- fear of losing mobile phones.

Stating that mobile phones are proving as cause of conflict among doctors and their family members and also lead to distraction during work, it revealed that 23 per cent physicians experienced "problems at work because of their cellphone use" and around 18 per cent of them had problems with family and friends.

Revealing the extent of its use by medicos and paramedics, the survey has thrown up an interesting figure that while nurses, on an average, recharge their phone battery twice a day, doctors do it three times a day.

It said that 61 per cent doctors find someone to call as soon as they leave their office, or as soon as their flight lands.

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