Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Undergraduate Students Regarding the Use of Mobile Health Applications for the Management and Self-Monitoring of Smog-Related Diseases

Abstract

Globally, smog is one of the major threats to public health. Through the use of smog-related mHealth apps, this study aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and preventive measures about smog in undergraduate students from two separate institutions in two different cities in Pakistan. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of 29 items was used to conduct a cross-sectional survey among 376 respondents. Chi-square was used for data analysis. According to the results, apps for mHealth related to smog are still surprisingly underutilized. Just 26.59% of students reported using a smog-related mHealth app in the previous year, and only 34.04% were aware that such apps even existed. Knowledge and usage of mHealth apps were significantly (p<0.05) correlated with demographic traits, including institutional affiliation and gender. Although 37.2% of students believed that the data from mHealth apps was reliable, a noteworthy 43.6% of them had ambiguous sentiments. This lack of interest could be the consequence of uncertainty regarding the mHealth apps' efficiency or unfamiliarity with them. Taking everything into account, this study highlights the importance of integrating mHealth tools into comprehensive public health policies aimed at addressing environmental health emergencies. This can be accomplished through improving app usability, developing targeted awareness campaigns inside educational institutions, and enhancing digital literacy. mHealth apps may prove to be useful tools in the fight against health issues brought on by smog.