Investigation of the relationship between health anxiety and cyberchondria in nurses during the COVİD-19 pandemic period

The research is a descriptive, relationship-seeking and cross-sectional study conducted to examine the health anxiety and cyberchondria levels of nurses during the Covid-19 pandemic period and the effect of Covid-19 health anxiety on cyberchondria. The population of the study consisted of nurses working in a city hospital on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, and the sample consisted of 246 nurses. Data were collected by using the Information form, Health Anxiety Scale and Cyberchondria Severity Scale, which were created by the researcher in line with the literature. In the analysis of the data, number, percentage, mean and standard deviation values were given. Pearson Correlation Test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test, T Test, One-Way ANOVA Test, MannWhitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H test were used. The mean score of the nurses from the health anxiety scale was 17.50±7.08; The mean of hypersensitivity to physical symptoms sub-dimension score was 13.68±5.56 and the mean score of negative results of the disease was found to be 3.26±1.95. The mean score of the nurses from the cyberchondria severity scale was 88.37±29.68. The mean score of the compulsion sub-dimension of the cyberchondria severity scale was 18.65±7.62; extreme anxiety sub-dimension mean score was 21.01±8.61; the mean score of the extremism sub-dimension was 23.78±8.73; The mean score of the reassurance sub-dimension was 15.80±15.81 and the mean score of the distrust of the doctor was 9.11±3.38. It was determined that there was a strong and significant positive correlation between the nurses' health anxiety scale and cyberchondria severity scale mean scores (p<0.001). In the study, the health anxiety of the nurses was at a ; It was concluded that cyberchondria levels were moderate and increased health anxiety increased cyberchondria.