AUTHOR=Hao Qing-hong , Wang Yang , Zhou Ming-Ze , Yi Ting , Cui Jia-Rui , Gao Ping , Qiu Mi-Mi , Peng Wei , Wang Jun , Tu Yang , Chen Ya-Lin , Li Hui , Zhu Tian-Min 

TITLE=Factors Influencing Pedestrian Smartphone Use and Effect of Combined Visual and Auditory Intervention on “Smombies”: A Chinese Observational Study

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 67 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2022.1604601

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2022.1604601

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=Objective: This was a large-scale multicenter study with two objectives. One was to study the factors influencing pedestrian smartphone use while crossing roads, and the other was to study the effect of combined visual and auditory intervention on smombies at crossroads.
Methods: This study was conducted in four different Chinese cities. By observing the pedestrians crossing the intersections, the weather, time and characteristics of the pedestrians were recorded by four researchers. Then, its influencing factors and the effects of the intervention were studied in two consecutive periods.
Results: A total of 25,860 pedestrians were observed in this study. Logistic regressions showed that gender, age of the pedestrians, weather and time were the factors influencing smombies crossing roads. The number of smartphone users decreased from 4,289 to 3,579 (28.1%) (X2=69.120, P<0.001) when the intervention was conducted. 
Conclusion: This study revealed the factors influencing pedestrian smartphone use while crossing roads, contributing to our understanding of the current situation of smombies in China. Furthermore, the effect of visual and auditory intervention was demonstrated, providing a new paradigm for global prevention of smombie behavior.