Health Effects of Using Mobile Communication Devices:A case Study in Senior Citizens, Thailand

摘要

The trend of using mobile devices amongst the elderly population is continuously increasing.Therefore, the aims of this study were to study the usage status of communication devices andapplications amongst the elderly population and to determine factors associated with health effectsrelated to mobile communication device usage among the elderly people in Thailand. Adescriptive cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in four main regions of Thailand. Fourhundred and forty-eight elderly people who regularly use smartphone or tablet computers participatedin the study. Face-to-face interviews were carried out and data was recorded in a preparedquestionnaire. Participants whose age averaged 65.11 ±5.26 years old participated in this study.The average time spent on using devices was 2.70 hours/day. The positive health effects of usingsmartphone or tablet devices were reported to be as follows: an increased sense of self-valueand confidence (90.6%) and an increased feeling of intimacy towards others (82.6%). Thenegative health effects were dim eyes (52.7%), shoulder or neck pain or muscle soreness (52.5%),an increase in social networking activity with strangers (39.5%), and changes in interactionwith those around them (32.6%). Moreover, the results showed that the time spent on mobile.