Survey of ownership and use of mobile phones among medical science students in Yazd

Abstract

As the use of mobile phones is increasing every day, public concern about possible adverse health effects of exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields (rf-emf) is also growing. Despite the extensive use of mobile phones, little is known about the pattern of mobile phone ownership and its use by the general population and students. The aim of this study was to assess the pattern of ownership and use of mobile phones in medical science students and their views about any possible negative effects. The current cross-sectional study was conducted on 309 selected Medical Science students who were selected from Yazd Medical Sciences University using a self administrated questionnaire. The mean talking time and listening to music on the mobile phone was 28.3 +/- 50.5 and 51.9 +/- 81.5 min day(-1), respectively. They also received or sent a mean of 18.8 +/- 37 text messages. Participants reported that location wise, the use of cell phones at home was 87.2% followed by street (79.6%), classroom (37.6%), during driving (18.6%) and in the library (17.8%), respectively. Keeping at pace with changes in community and technology, including mobile phones and their effects on university environments, it seems that responsible departments or managers must predict their possible effects and establish new regulations, accordingly.