Research Article

Health Anxiety and eHealth Literacy as Predictors of Cyberchondria in Women

Volume: 14 Number: 3 July 10, 2023
TR EN

Health Anxiety and eHealth Literacy as Predictors of Cyberchondria in Women

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate whether women's cyberchondria levels differ according to some socio-demographic demographic characteristics and the effect of health anxiety and e-health literacy on cyberchondria levels. Methods: The descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2022 and March 2023 with women who applied to the gynecology outpatient clinic of a state hospital. The purposive sampling method was used, and 178 women were included in the study. The data were collected using a personal information form, Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS), Health Anxiety Inventory (HAI), and eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS). ANOVA, t-test, Pearson correlation, and hierarchical linear regression analysis analyzed the data. Results: In this study, the cyberchondria levels of the participants differed according to some socio-demographic characteristics (p< 0.05). The participants' mean score was 28.25 ± 8.45 on the CSS, 18.93 ± 10.78 on the HAI, and 25.65 ± 9.05 on the eHEALS. There was a positive and moderate relationship between the level of cyberchondria and health anxiety (r= 0.416; p=0.001) and e-health literacy (r= 0.378; p=0.001). Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that spending six hours or more on the Internet per day (β = 0.130), health anxiety (β = 0.319) and e-health literacy (β = 0.273) were predictors of cyberchondria (p< 0.05), and these variables explained 35% of the variance in cyberchondria (F=14.279; p=0.001). Conclusion: The study provides new findings in health-related Internet use research and contributes to the ongoing debate on the possible predictors of cyberchondria.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Health Care Administration

Journal Section

Research Article

Early Pub Date

June 22, 2023

Publication Date

July 10, 2023

Submission Date

April 20, 2023

Acceptance Date

May 12, 2023

Published in Issue

Year 2023 Volume: 14 Number: 3

EndNote
Uslu Şahan F, Purtul S (July 1, 2023) Health Anxiety and eHealth Literacy as Predictors of Cyberchondria in Women. Acıbadem Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi 14 3 454–461.

Cited By

Being Pregnant in the Digital Age: Cyberchondria and Pregnancy Anxiety

Bandırma Onyedi Eylül Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri ve Araştırmaları Dergisi

https://doi.org/10.46413/boneyusbad.1628422