Reducing Digital Distractions to Improve Time Management Among Nursing Students

March 9, 2026 updated by: Mostafa Shaban, Cairo University

Reducing Digital Distractions to Improve Time Management Among Nursing Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study of a Brief Digital Abstinence Intervention

This study examines whether a short digital abstinence intervention can reduce digital distractions and improve time management among undergraduate nursing students. Excessive smartphone and social media use has been associated with decreased academic productivity, impaired concentration, and poor time management in university students, particularly in demanding programs such as nursing.

This quasi-experimental study will evaluate the effectiveness of a brief intervention in which participants limit or abstain from non-academic smartphone use for a defined period. Nursing students will be assessed before and after the intervention using validated measures of digital distraction and time management.

The findings of this study aim to determine whether reducing digital distractions can enhance students' ability to manage their time effectively and improve their academic focus. The results may inform strategies for promoting healthier digital habits and improving academic performance among nursing students.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

80

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Undergraduate nursing students enrolled in the nursing program.

Aged between 18 and 25 years.

Regular users of smartphones and social media.

Willing to participate in the digital abstinence intervention and complete study questionnaires.

Able to provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

Students currently participating in another behavioral or digital-use intervention study.

Students with medical or psychological conditions that may interfere with study participation.

Students who do not regularly use smartphones or digital media.

Students who decline or withdraw consent to participate in the study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Digital Abstinence Intervention
Participants assigned to this group will undergo a brief digital abstinence intervention aimed at reducing non-academic smartphone and social media use. Students will be instructed to limit or abstain from non-essential digital activities for the duration of the intervention period. Educational guidance and self-monitoring strategies will be provided to help participants manage digital distractions and improve time management. Outcomes will be assessed before and after the intervention using validated questionnaires measuring digital distraction and time management behaviors.
Behavioral: Digital Abstinence Intervention
Participants assigned to the intervention group will receive a brief behavioral intervention designed to reduce non-academic smartphone and social media use. The intervention encourages temporary abstinence or substantial reduction of digital activities that contribute to distraction. Participants will be guided to monitor their smartphone use and minimize engagement with non-essential digital platforms during the intervention period. The goal of the intervention is to reduce digital distractions and support improved time management and academic focus among nursing students.
Other Names:
  • Digital detox Smartphone restriction Digital distraction reduction intervention
No Intervention: Usual Digital Use (Control)
Participants in this group will continue their usual smartphone and social media use without any specific restriction or behavioral intervention. They will complete the same baseline and follow-up assessments as the intervention group to evaluate changes in digital distraction and time management over the study period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Time Management Score
Time Frame: Baseline and immediately after completion of the intervention period If your study used a specific named instrument, replace the description with the exact scale name. For example:
The primary outcome is the change in participants' time management from baseline to post-intervention, measured using a structured questionnaire/validated time management scale administered to undergraduate nursing students. Higher scores indicate better time management.
Baseline and immediately after completion of the intervention period If your study used a specific named instrument, replace the description with the exact scale name. For example:

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Cairo University

Collaborators

mai albana

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

March 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

April 15, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 9, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 9, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

March 12, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 12, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 9, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 3ertrt

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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