Abstract:
Evidence suggests that the hospital environment can be stressful for inpatients. Hospitalisation can cause loneliness and isolation, as patients are away from comfortable and familiar environments and their usual social support. Inpatients can also experience a lack of personal control and increases in anxiety and depressive symptoms. Previous research shows widespread use of mobile devices in the general public. The effects of mobile devices on interpersonal relationships and psychological well-being have been investigated in social settings. Research in the health setting, however, has primarily focused on mobile devices and their use in managing chronic illnesses in outpatients (e.g. utilisation of m-Health medical apps to increase adherence to medical treatment). The effects of mobile devices on inpatients’ psychological health in a hospital setting have not been examined. This study aimed to explore inpatients’ use of mobile devices in a hospital setting with a cross-sectional, self-report design. It investigated how many mobile devices patients used while hospitalised, the amount of time spent on these devices, the type and number of activities carried out on their mobile devices, and how this related to their psychological outcomes. One hundred and twenty cardiology patients completed the self-administered questionnaire and were recruited from the Coronary Care Unit and Cardiology Ward in Auckland City Hospital. It was hypothesised that increased use of mobile devices would be associated with lower psychological stress and higher perceived social support. Additionally, increased use of mobile devices would be associated with less loneliness, anxiety and depressive symptoms, lower levels of pain and negative affect and higher levels of personal control and positive affect. Correlational and regression analyses were performed to examine the association between mobile device use and these psychological outcomes. In backward stepwise regression analyses, demographic factors including age, ethnicity, education, living arrangements and marital status significantly predicted psychological outcomes. In addition, across all outcomes, more mobile device use was significantly associated with better psychological health, with moderate effect sizes. This preliminary study suggests that mobile device use is associated with better psychological outcomes for hospitalised patients. Future research needs to replicate this novel study through experimental and longitudinal studies and in various patient samples to confirm our findings. Mobile devices may have considerable utility in improving the psychological health and well-being of hospitalised cardiology inpatients.