Educating medical students on hygienically safe usage of mobile electronic devices
- Pages
- 81-88
Abstract
The goal of the research is to study how much the mobile electronic devices affect the vision of medical students and assess the degree of impact in relation to the occurrence of eyesight complaints, in particular computer visual syndrome, and to identify the factors that contribute to visual impairment. The author aims at developing measures for the hygienic education of medical students to reduce adverse effects of the use of mobile electronic devices on future doctors. 518 medical students of the 3rd year of General medicine and Pediatric faculties of the Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University were interviewed. The average age of the respondents was 20.1 ± 0.08 years. Questionnaires to study the effect of gadgets on vision were specially developed at the Department of Hygiene of the Pediatric Faculty of the Pirogov’s Russian National Research Medical University. There is evidence that half of medical students never do eye exercises; more than 75.0 % of medical students hold a mobile electronic device very close to their eyes at a distance of less than 30 cm while working, which is not in line with hygiene recommendations. Based on the results of this study, simple but easily implemented recommendations were developed for medical students who were included in the checklist for the protection of vision; checklists were tested over the course of two months and recorded positive changes.