1. Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Where is your phone? A survey of phone location and perceived risk: A pilot study Mary Redmayne Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE), Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

2. Background  Mobile phones emit electromagnetic radiation  All mobile phones emit a regular ‘handshake’ transmission  Apps make frequent transmissions while phone is in stand-by  This raises the question of possible health effects related to carrying a phone in stand-by against the body  Manufacturers advise against carrying or using against the body 25/10/2015Where is your phone? A pilot study M Redmayne PRESEE event 20152

3. Aims and purposes  1. To describe where cell phones are carried by adolescents and young women (age 12-40) when being used for a variety of purposes.  2. To enable power calculation for future women’s health studies.  3. To ascertain perception of health risks associated with cell phones and other transmitting devices 25/10/2015Where is your phone? A pilot study M Redmayne PRESEE event 20153

4. Methods  The survey is by questionnaire and answered online using Survey Monkey®.  Time 10-15 minutes depending on responses  Female adolescents and young women aged 12 to 40 are eligible to participate  Aim for broad socio-economic backgrounds and walks of life  Study being undertaken in Australia and Germany (P. Wiedemann, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Berlin, Germany) Just Australian interim results presented here  A wide variety of places were approached and asked to notify their students/employees/members about the survey  Posters and notices for emailing were provided 25/10/2015Where is your phone? A pilot study M Redmayne PRESEE event 20154

5. Interim results (data collection not finished)  At the time of this preliminary analysis, there were 183 participants  Age range 13-40 25/10/2015Where is your phone? A pilot study M Redmayne PRESEE event 20155 Split into 5 equal sized categories for preliminary analysis 13-21 22-26 27-30 31-36 37-30

6. For how long have you carried a mobile phone for with you at least half the time? 25/10/2015 Where is your phone? A pilot study M Redmayne PRESEE event 2015 6 ‘’ ‘

7. A = In your hand B = In a pocket, at or below waist level C = In a bag, or elsewhere not in your clothing D = In a breast pocket or hanging against your chest E = In your bra or fitted sports top F = Against your upper arm G = Tucked into your hijab 25/10/2015Where is your phone? A pilot study M Redmayne PRESEE event 20157 KEY Locations of phone Note different scales Nos.

8. 25/10/2015Where is your phone? A pilot study M Redmayne PRESEE event 20158

9. In what mode and how far from your head is your phone at night?  10% have the phone turned off at night More than 80% keep the phone in stand-by overnight. Of these:  13% (of N=166) have the phone in stand-by and within 20 cms of their head  57% (of N=166) have the phone in stand-by and between 20 and 50 cms of their head 25/10/2015Where is your phone? A pilot study M Redmayne PRESEE event 20159 Stand-by? Flight mode? Turned off? Why does this matter? Because smartphones frequently transmit while in stand-by

10. Perceived health risks  We asked about a wide range of health conditions from headaches to cancer 25/10/2015Where is your phone? A pilot study M Redmayne PRESEE event 201510

11. Do you consider that exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation causes or worsens human health problems with respect to: Definite’ or ‘Probable’ risk 25/10/2015Where is your phone? A pilot study M Redmayne PRESEE event 201511 Symptom Yes and Probably Sleep65% Cancer59% Headaches, dizziness56% Thinking, memory, concentration53.5% Emotional/Mental health (anxiety, mood, depression)48.5% Fertility39% Vision35% Nervous system (tingling, numbness)33% Blood pressure23.5% Motor (aches, pain, weakness)23% Immune system23% Heart function21.5% Digestion15% NB Excludes those who definitely thought there were no health implications and who weren’t asked the risk perception questions

12. 25/10/2015Where is your phone? A pilot study M Redmayne PRESEE event 201512 Acknowledgements Our thanks to: NHMRC who funded the Centre for Population Health Research on Electromagnetic Energy (PRESEE ) All participants Photo in bra credit: http://www.news4jax.com/image/view/- /20951588/highRes/2/-/maxh/360/maxw/640/-/100k0udz/-/Cell-phone-breast- pix.jpg Thank you mary.redmayne@monash.edu