Microbiological Contamination of Mobile Phones and Mobile Phone Hygiene of Final-Year Medical Students in Uganda: A Need for Educational Intervention

Abstract

Introduction: Contaminated mobile phones act as reservoirs for organisms causing hospital-acquired infections (HAI). Little is known about medical school students' awareness of infection prevention and control (IPC) regarding mobile phone use among medical students. We demonstrated the presence of organisms on mobile phones of final-year medical students at Makerere University College of Health Sciences and evaluated their awareness of IPC regarding mobile phone hygiene and use in a hospital setting. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, organisms from swabs obtained from 79 medical students' mobile phones were identified and antimicrobial susceptibility test carried out using standard biochemical tests and the automated BD Phoenix instrument. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire to assess the students' awareness. The analysis was carried out using STATA software version 16. Results: Seventy (88.6%) mobile phones were contaminated with at least one organism. One hundred forty-eight bacteria were isolated, of which 123 (83.1%) were Gram-positive, 24 (16.2%) were Gram-negative, and 1 (0.7%) was yeast (Candida spp). Coagulase negative staphylococci were the most frequently isolated among Gram-positive bacteria. Acinetobacter baumannii were the most frequently isolated among Gram-negative bacteria. The average IPC practical score regarding mobile phone hygiene (34%) was significantly lower than the average IPC awareness score (77%) (p ≤ 0.0001). Seventy-four (93.7%) students use their phones while rotating in the various wards. Forty (50.6%) of the students cleaned their phones with alcohol-based sanitizer after rotations in the ward. Thirty-five (44.3%) students were aware of IPC programs in the hospital they rotated in. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of bacterial contamination from mobile phones of medical students. The students had lower IPC practical scores compared to IPC awareness scores regarding mobile phone hygiene irrespective of the ward of rotation. Curriculum of final-year medical students should include IPC-related topics, which incorporate practical skills.

Bacterial Colonization on Healthcare Workers’ Mobile Phones and Hands in Municipal Hospitals of Chongqing, China: Cross-contamination and Associated Factors

“…This may be related to the constant emphasis on the importance of HAI control in recent years in China. Similar to other reports [ 19 , 24 ], most HCWs wiped their mobile phone surfaces with alcohol. On one hand, alcohol is simple, cheap, easy to get, and will not damage their phones.…”

“…This cross-sectional study was conducted from April to June in 24 hospitals of Chongqing, China. Sample size was calculated based on a previous similar study [ 19 ]. We used the formula N = P (1− P )/ d 2 , where N = sample size, Z α/2 = statistic for the level of confidence = 1.96, α = 0.05, P = expected prevalence = 50% (prevalence of mobile phone contamination with bacteria) [ 16 ], and d = allowable error = 0.1(10%).…”

Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on cellphones of healthcare workers in Najran University hospital, Najran City (Saudi Arabia)

“…Also, CONS are normal commensals of the skin and mucous membranes of humans and their species have emerged as the most common cause of healthcare-associated bloodstream infections (BSIs) for many years (Asaad et al, 2016). Also, the study revealed that the highest level of contamination in female's cellphones samples (77.6%) in general compared with males (22.38%) and showed a significantly different (Table 3); this is similar to the finding obtained by Heyba et al (2015) and Lubwama et al (2021).…”

“…Additionally, abundant isolates of S. aureus, CONS and Gram-positive bacilli from cellphones of medical students. Therefore, training programs at an early stage in medical schools on guidelines about restricting the use of cellphones in the clinical environment must be implemented (Ibrahim and Elshafie, 2016;Zakai et al, 2016;Lubwama et al, 2021). Hence the present study was carried out to screen the mobile phone of healthcare workers, which can act as a source of infection by methicillin-resistant S. aureus.…”

Bacterial Contamination of Healthcare Students’ Mobile Phones: Impact of Specific Absorption Rate (SAR), Users’ Demographics and Device Characteristics on Bacterial Load

“…In hospitals, MPs are widely used by healthcare workers (HCWs) and students of healthcare professions within and outside hospital wards, both as personal communication devices and useful tools for clinical practice [5][6][7][8]. This could reasonably produce an Life 2023, 13, 1349 2 of 14 increased occurrence and transmission of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) considering that they are potential carriers of microorganisms [2,[9][10][11].…”