Determination of the relationship between health anxiety levels and cyberchondry levels of patients applying to yellow and green areas in emergency departments

Aim. This study was carried out to determine the relationship between health anxiety levels and cyberchondria levels of patients who applied to yellow and green areas in emergency services. Method. The research population consisted of patients admitted to the green and yellow areas of the emergency department. The sample of the study consisted of 414 patients aged 18 years and over who accepted the study and met the research criteria. In the collection of research data, "Patient Characteristics Form", "Health Anxiety Scale (Short Version)" and "Cyberchondria Scale (SIBKI)" were used. Data collection tools took 15 minutes for each patient. Data analysis was done using SPSS 22 package program. "Independent Groups t-Test", "Mann Whitney U Test", "OneWayAnova", "Kruskall Wallis" and correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis. Results. 16.63±7.95 from the "Health Anxiety Scale" of the patients; It was determined that they got 65.86±18.48 from the "Cyberchondria Scale". In the study, it was determined that women, those aged between 18-30, married, and those with low income had higher scores from the "Health Anxiety Scale". On the other hand, it was determined that there was no relationship between the total scores of the "Cyberchondria Scale" and the variables. In addition, it was determined that there was a statistically significant positive moderate correlation between the overall total mean score of the "Health Anxiety Scale" and the overall total mean score of the "Cyberchondria Scale" (r= 0.589; p<0.001). Conclusion. It was determined that the health anxiety of the patients was low and the level of cyberchondria was moderate. In the study, it was determined that women, those between the ages of 18-30, married, and those with low income levels had higher health anxiety. It was concluded that as the health anxiety of the patients increased, the level of cyberchondria also increased. Keywords: emergency department, health anxiety, cyberchondria