Mobile phone addiction and its association with burnout in Chinese novice nurses: A cross‐sectional survey

AIM: To explore the levels of mobile phone addiction and burnout and their relationships among novice nurses. DESIGN: A cross‐sectional investigation design. METHODS: Questionnaires were distributed to 400 novice nurses in five public hospitals in China. A total of 366 participants completed the survey. Data collected in 2020 were analysed by using descriptive statistics, an independent t test and Pearson's correlation analysis. RESULTS: The results showed that the frequency of nursing adverse events was associated with higher level of mobile phone addiction in novice nurses, and 52.46% of the participants (N = 366) presented a high level of occupational burnout. Moreover, the results indicated that there was a positive correlation between the novice nurses’ mobile phone addiction level and burnout (r = .33, p < .01). CONCLUSION: The level of mobile phone addiction may affect nursing adverse events and nurses’ burnout. Education on novice nurses’ mobile phone use seems necessary to ensure patient safety and burnout prevention. IMPACT: Findings of this study expanded important knowledge about mobile phone addiction and its potential influence on nursing safety and nurse burnout and may place significant implications to staff nurse management and in‐service education.