The Relationship of E-health Literacy with Cyberchondria: A Cross-Sectional Study on Pregnant Women

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD, Samsun Ayvacik State Hospital, Samsun, Turkey

2 Lecturer, Kütahya Health Sciences University, Gediz Vocational School

3 Prof, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Alanya / Antalya.

Abstract

Background and Objective: Health literacy and cyberchondria are effective for pregnant women to make the right health decisions for themselves and their babies. The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlation between e-health literacy, cyberchondria, and the factors influencing them in pregnant women.

Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted on a population of pregnant women who were admitted to two public hospitals located in Samsun. A questionnaire form consisting of 3 sections was used as a data collection tool in the study.  Pregnancy information form, e-health literacy scale and cyberchondria scale. The study involved analysing 400 questionnaire forms. Data were analyzed by the frequency test, One Way ANOVA, correlation analysis and multiple regression.

Results: The study participants had a mean age of 28.53 ± 6.53. Among them, 60.3% were aged 19-29, 37.3% had an associate degree, 45.3% were pregnant for the first time, and 38.3% were in their second trimester. The mean pregnancy was 1.81 ± 10.63. In the study group, the mean e-health literacy was 3.27 ± 0.99, and the mean cyberchondria was 30.29 ± 9.78. The study found a statistically significant difference in e-health literacy and cyberchondria based on age, educational status, gestational week, and number of pregnancies. Additionally, there was a statistically significant positive relationship between health literacy and cyberchondria severity.

Conclusion: The results of the study showed that the level of e-health literacy and cyberchondria of pregnant women was moderate, and that e-health literacy, age and education level would affect cyberchondria. Therefore, this problem can be prevented by providing digital health practices, e-health literacy and safe internet use training to pregnant women in health institutions and the media.

Keywords

Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank all the participants who were interviewed for this study.


Availability of data and materials: The data that support the findings of this study are not openly available due to reasons of sensitivity and are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.


Conflict of interest: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial competing interests to disclose.


Consent for publication: Not applicable.


Funding: The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.


Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate: Ethical approval for the study was obtained from Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee with the date 11.07.2023 and number 08. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.


Author contributions: YD, SÖ and ED designed the study, YD, SÖ and ED collected the data, YD and SÖ analysed the data and wrote the manuscript, all authors contributed to manuscript revisions.

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