Internet Addiction and Burnout in A Single Hospital: Is There Any Association?

Abstract

The extensive availability of the internet has led to the recognition of problematic internet use, the so-called Internet Addiction (IA), mostly involving adolescents. Burnout can lead to substance abuse or addictive behaviour (such as internet addiction) as a coping method. There are insufficient data about internet addiction and its possible association with burnout in adults, especially among healthcare workers. The aim of our present study was to focus on prevalence and the risk factors of internet addiction and its possible association with burnout among healthcare workers in a single hospital applying a questionnaire-based survey. In total, 49 doctors (10.1%), 198 nurses (40.9%), 123 medical assistant (25.4%), 73 other healthcare workers (15.1%), and 42 (1.7%) healthcare associated workers (cleaning, laundry, etc.) have completed our survey. In a multivariate analysis, IA was associated with age between 18 and 25 (OR: 2.6, p = 0.024), surfing on the internet >5 h daily (OR 25.583, p < 0.001), being single (OR: 4.275, p = 0.006), being childless (OR: 3.81, p = 0.011), working less than five years (OR 2.135, p = 0.048) and job type (being healthcare associated worker, OR: 2.907, p = 0.009). Illicit drug intake (OR 52.494, p < 0.001), and diabetes (OR: 4.122, p = 0.043) were also significantly associated with internet addiction. No association of burnout and IA could be found. A small but significant proportion of our healthcare workers suffered from IA, which was associated with substance abuse and diabetes in multivariate analysis. Our study also draws attention to the risk factors of IA such as younger age, family status, working type and working hours internet use. The possible association of burnout and IA merits further investigation.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Internet Addiction among Hungarian High School Teachers

“…As there are no clear diagnostic criteria for the internet addiction it is highly recommended to measure excessive internet use with a continuous questionnaire [4]. We chose the problematic internet use questionnaire (PIUQ) because its structure tightly adheres to the proposed diagnostic criteria for internet addiction and was created based on the clinimetric and psychometric analysis of Young's internet addiction test independently validated by several groups and used in our previous published work [14][15][16][17]. The questionnaire contains 18 items, each scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always).…”

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Internet Addiction among Hungarian High School Students

“…As there are no clear diagnostic criteria for internet addiction, it is highly recommended to measure excessive internet use with a continuous questionnaire [ 12 ]. We chose the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ) because its structure tightly adheres to the proposed diagnostic criteria for internet addiction and was created based on the clinometric and psychometric analysis of Young’s internet addiction test, independently validated by several groups and used in our previous published work [ 7 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. The questionnaire contains 18 items, each scored on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always).…”

“…Adopting less severe cutoff levels or permissive polythetic classifications, the rate of addiction can be much higher, underlying the importance of the classification scheme used and cultural factors [ 6 ]. The difficulty of its recognition is that internet-based technology has improved many aspects of our lives, and it is now an essential part of our everyday routine, including work, private and social life; therefore, many individuals are not aware of its problematic nature or misuse [ 7 ].…”

“…Despite intensive research, there are no specific criteria for internet addiction. It can be classified as a compulsive–impulsive spectrum disorder based on symptomatology, but it is under considerable research and not included in the recently published 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual DSM-V [ 7 , 8 ].…”

“…Furthermore, there is a possible link between internet addiction and increased sympathetic hyperactivity, which can be the precedessor of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. A recent study showed its association with diabetes and musculoskeletal pain in adults, probably as a result of a sedentary lifestyle, postural habits and fast food consumption [ 7 , 27 ].…”