the most common uses of smartphones among medical interns and residents in iran: a cross-sectional study at zahedan university of medical sciences

Introduction: medical students are increasingly using smartphones for personal and professional purposes, making them suitable tools for advancing education in developing countries. to ensure the development of efficient and relevant applications with high user adherence and appropriate content creation, it seems necessary to identify the common uses of smartphones. methods: the population of this cross-sectional descriptive study was 416 medical interns and residents at zahedan university of medical sciences, iran. the sample size was determined from morgan’s table, which includes 203 individuals. proportional stratified random sampling was used. the data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire, the validity and reliability of which were confirmed. the collected data were analyzed using spss software. descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation) and analytical statistics (independent t-test) were used for data analysis. results: the average scores for using smartphones in general affairs, educational and specialized affairs, and clinical affairs were 4.07 ± 0.60, 3.81 ± 0.75, and 3.53 ± 0.84, respectively. the lowest scores in educational affairs were related to participating in conferences and scientific seminars, searching for library resources at the faculty library, and extending the electronic loan period of borrowed books from the university library. in clinical affairs, the lowest scores were related to preparing and sending educational content for hospitalized and discharged patients. conclusion: according to the results of this research, organizing educational workshops on introducing the university library website and how to use it using smartphones, encouraging students to participate in scientific conferences and seminars, and creating suitable and high-quality educational content for patients using smartphones and sending them to patients to improve the quality of treatment should be considered.