اعظم ملکی قهفرخی

Smartphones with many different applications help people organize their daily activities. As a result, the statistics indicate the increasing use of these phones. The aim of this study was to investigate the musculoskeletal and cognitive consequences of excessive use of smartphones among users in Tehran.

In this study, 541 smartphone users (60.2% female and 39.8% male) in Tehran with a mean age of 35.9 (±11.0) years participated. Four questionnaires including Smartphone Addiction Scale, Neck Disability Index, Cornell Hand Discomfort Questionnaire, and Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, which were sent to participants online via WhatsApp or Telegram, were used. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation by SPSS25 software. Ethical considerations were considered throughout all stages of the study.

The prevalence of smartphone addiction in the study population was 37.3% (35.2% in females and 42% in males). 20-30 years old participants had the greatest prevalence of smartphone addiction. There were positive and significant relationships between smartphone addiction and age, hands and neck musculoskeletal problems and cognitive failures in daily activities (P-value≤0.05).

The high prevalence of smartphone addiction besides its negative consequences necessitate proper planning to control the overuse of smartphones in Iranian users. Further studies are recommended to determine the mechanisms involved, especially in the relationship between smartphone addiction and age, cognitive impairment, performance, and human error.

The comfort questionnaire for hand tools (CQH) is a subjective measure for exploring the starting points for improving hand tool design. This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Farsi version of the CQH. 

In this cross-sectional study, which was conducted among 163 university students, the 17-question CQH was translated into Farsi with a translation back-translation procedure. Content validity was assessed by a panel of 10 experts. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was applied for determining construct validity. Cronbach’s alpha and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) were used for assessing internal consistency and test-retest reliability, respectively. Ceiling and floor effects were also estimated for evaluating the feasibility of the measure.

The CQH showed good content validity. Content validity index (CVI) ranged from 0.80 to 1.00 and content validity ratio (CVR) ranged 0.62-1.00. EFA led to extraction of two factors from the data. The first one was mostly related to functionality and physical interaction and the second one, was generally about adverse body effects. The Cronbach’s alpha was 0.74 and test-retest reliability was 0.74 (95% CI= 0.58 to 0.86) which both were satisfactory. There were no (0%) ceiling and floor effects.

The Farsi version of CQH is an acceptable and useful instrument for evaluating hand tools comfort.