Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: May 5, 2018
Open Peer Review Period: May 9, 2018 - Jul 4, 2018
Date Accepted: Apr 27, 2019
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Cyberchondria - Use of online health services in hypochondriacs compared to non-hypochondriacs.
ABSTRACT
Background:
An increasing number of people consult physicians because of worrying information found online. Cyberchondria refers to the phenomenon of health anxiety due to online health information.
Objective:
The present study aimed at examining Internet usage patterns of participants with and without symptoms of hypochondria and their impact on health anxiety as well as behavior.
Methods:
An online survey was conducted. Demographic data, health-related Internet use and general health behavior were assessed. The illness attitude scale was used to record symptoms of hypochondria.
Results:
The final sample consisted of N = 471 participants. More than 40% of participants showed at least some symptoms of hypochondria. As expected subjects with symptoms of hypochondria used the Internet more frequently for health related purposes and also frequented more various services than non-hypochondriacs. Most online health services were rated as more reliable by hypochondriacs. Reactions to online research such as doctor hopping or ordering non-prescribed medicine online were considered more likely by participants with hypochondria.
Conclusions:
Results contradict a substitution thesis, whereby users turn to online research as a result of a lack of alternatives, but rather show that intensive users of health-related services seem to consult them on- as well as offline.
Citation
Per the author's request the PDF is not available.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.