ÜNİVERSİTE ÇALIŞANLARINDA SİBERKONDRİ VE İLİŞKİLİ ETMENLER

Year 2022, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 257 - 268, 04.06.2022

Süleyman Utku Uzun Mehmet Zencir

https://doi.org/10.35232/estudamhsd.1027589

Cited By: 2

Abstract

İnternette tekrarlayan tıbbi bilgi aramanın bir sonucu olarak sağlık anksiyetesinin şiddetlenmesi için literatürde “siberkondri” terimi kullanılmaktadır. Siberkondri sıklığı ve olası risk etmenleri ile ilgili sınırlı sayıda çalışma bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışma, üniversite çalışanlarında siberkondri düzeyi ve ilişkili etmenleri belirlemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Bu kesitsel çalışma 335 akademik ve akademik olmayan üniversite personeli üzerinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veriler, 17’si sosyodemografik özellikler ve sağlık hizmeti kullanımı ile ilgili ve 33’ü Siberkondri Ciddiyet Ölçeği sorusu olmak üzere 50 sorudan oluşan bir anket aracılığıyla toplanmıştır. Siberkondri ile ilişkili faktörleri değerlendirmek için çok değişkenli doğrusal regresyon kullanılmıştır. Katılımcıların ortalama siberkondri puanı 71,1±17,6'dır. Siberkondri puanı 35 yaş altı çalışanlarda daha yüksekti (p=0,001). Televizyonda sağlıkla ilgili yayınları izleyenlerde, hekim önerisi olmadan tetkik yaptıranlarda ve hekim önerisi olmadan ilaç kullananlarda siberkondri puanının daha yüksek olduğu bulunmuştur (p<0,05). Pamukkale Üniversitesi çalışanlarında siberkondri düzeyi orta düzeydedir. Yaş, TV’de sağlıkla ilgili yayınları izlemek, hekim önerisi dışında tetkik yaptırmak ve hekim önerisi dışında ilaç kullanmak siberkondri ile ilişkili etmenlerdir.

Keywords

Siberkondri, sağlık kaygısı, internet, üniversite personeli, Türkiye

CYBERCHONDRIA AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG UNIVERSITY STAFF

Abstract

The term "cyberchondria" has been used in the literature for the exacerbation of health anxiety as a result of searching for medical information on the Internet. There are limited studies on the prevalence and potential risk factors of cyberchondria. This study was carried out to determine the level of cyberchondria and related factors in university employees. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 335 academic and non-academic university staff. The data were collected through a questionnaire consisting of 50 questions, 17 of which were related to sociodemographic characteristics and healthcare utilization, and 33 of which were Cyberchondria Severity Scale questions. Multivariate linear regression was used to evaluate factors associated with cyberchondria. The mean cyberchondria score of the participants was 71.1±17.6. The cyberchondria score was higher among staff aged ≤35 (p=0.001). It was found that the cyberchondria score was higher in those who watched health-related broadcasts on TV, who received laboratory tests and procedures without a physician's referral, and who took medication without a doctor's advice (p<0.05). The level of cyberchondria among Pamukkale University employees was moderate. Age, watching health-related broadcasts on TV, receiving laboratory tests and procedures without a physician’s referral, and taking medication without a doctor's advice were factors associated with cyberchondria.

Keywords

Cyberchondria, health anxiety, internet, university staff, Turkey

References

• 1. International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Statistics - Individuals using the Internet worldwide - 2019 [Internet]. [cited 2021 Jun 23]. Available from: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx
• 2. The World Bank. Individuals using the Internet (% of population) - Turkey [Internet]. [cited 2021 Jun 23]. Available from: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?end=2019&locations=TR&start=1990&view=chart
• 3. TURKSTAT. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Usage Survey on Households and Individuals, 2020 [Internet] [cited 2021 Jul 8]. Available from: https://data.tuik.gov.tr/ Bulten/Index?p=Survey-on-Informationand-Communication-Technology-(ICT)-Usage-in-Households-and-by-Individuals-2020-33679
• 4. Chu JT, Wang MP, Shen C, Viswanath K, Lam TH, Chan SSC. How, When and Why People Seek Health Information Online: Qualitative Study in Hong Kong. Interact J Med Res. 2017;6(2):e24.
• 5. Tan SSL, Goonawardene N. Internet health information seeking and the patient-physician relationship: A systematic review. J Med Internet Res. 2017;19(1):e5729.
• 6. Muse K, McManus F, Leung C, Meghreblian B, Williams JMG. Cyberchondriasis: Fact or fiction? A preliminary examination of the relationship between health anxiety and searching for health information on the Internet. J Anxiety Disord. 2012;26(1):189-96.
• 7. Powell JA, Darvell M, Gray JAM. The doctor, the patient and the world-wide web: How the internet is changing healthcare. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 2003;96(2):74-6.
• 8. White RW, Horvitz E. Cyberchondria: Studies of the escalation of medical concerns in Web search. ACM Trans Inf Syst. 2009;27(4):1-37.
• 9. Baumgartner SE, Hartmann T. The role of health anxiety in online health information search. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2011;14(10):613-8.
• 10. Fergus TA. The Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS): An examination of structure and relations with health anxiety in a community sample. J Anxiety Disord. 2014;28(6):504-10.
• 11. Starcevic V, Berle D. Cyberchondria: towards a better understanding of excessive health-related Internet use. Expert Rev Neurother. 2013;13(2):205-13.
• 12. Hart J, Björgvinsson T. Health anxiety and hypochondriasis: description and treatment issues highlighted through a case illustration. Bull Menninger Clin. 2010;74(2):122-40.
• 13. Taylor S. Understanding and treating health anxiety: A cognitive-behavioral approach. Cogn Behav Pract. 2004;11(1):112-23.
• 14. Berezovska, I., Buchinger, K., Matsyuk O. Evolving facets of cyberchondria: Primum non nocere" first, do no harm. In: Kalogiannakis M, Stavrou D, Michaelides PG, editors. 7th International Conference Hands-on Science Bridging the Science and Society Gap (HSci2010); 2010 July 25-31; Crete, Greece. pp. 125-30.
• 15. Lewis T. Seeking health information on the internet: Lifestyle choice or bad attack of cyberchondria? Media Cult Soc. 2006;28(4):521-39.
• 16. Singh K, Brown RJ. Health-related Internet habits and health anxiety in university students. Anxiety Stress Coping. 2014;27(5):542-54.
• 17. McElroy E, Shevlin M. The development and initial validation of the cyberchondria severity scale (CSS). J Anxiety Disord. 2013;28(2):259-65.
• 18. Uzun SU, Zencir M. Reliability and validity study of the Turkish version of cyberchondria severity scale. Curr Psychol. 2021;40(1):65-71.
• 19. Norr AM, Allan NP, Boffa JW, Raines AM, Schmidt NB. Validation of the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS): Replication and extension with bifactor modeling. J Anxiety Disord. 2015;31:58-64.
• 20. Aulia A, Marchira CR, Supriyanto I, Pratiti B. Cyberchondria in First Year Medical Students of Yogyakarta. J Consum Health Internet. 2020;24(1):1-9.
• 21. Barke A, Bleichhardt G, Rief W, Doering BK. The Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS): German Validation and Development of a Short Form. Int J Behav Med. 2016;23(5):595-605.
• 22. Rice RE. Influences, usage, and outcomes of Internet health information searching: Multivariate results from the Pew surveys. Int J Med Inform. 2006;75(1):8-28.
• 23. Rideout V. Generation Rx.com. What are young people really doing online? Mark Health Serv. 2002;22(1):26-30.
• 24. Gray NJ, Klein JD, Cantrill JA, Noyce PR. Adolescents’ perceptions of the internet as a health information source. Int J Pharm Pract. 2011;10:R53-R53.
• 25. Rose N. Inventing Ourselves: Psychology, Power, and Personhood. Cambridge University Press; 1998.
• 26. Turkiewicz KL. The impact of cyberchondria on doctor-patient communication. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; 2012. Available from: https://search.proquest.com/pqdtglobal/docview/1033333467/B258F476D7F44F7BPQ/1?accountid=11637
• 27. Clayton MF, Latimer S, Dunn TW, Haas L. Assessing patient-centered communication in a family practice setting: How do we measure it, and whose opinion matters? Patient Educ Couns. 2011;84(3):294-302.