Determination of cyberchondria level and affecting factors in housewives

Aim: Today, with the rapid development of information and communication technology, health search behavior on the internet has increased. Increased health anxiety due to health information seeking is called 'cyberchondria'. This study aimed to determine the level of cybercode and related factors in housewives who are at risk for mental illness. Materials and Methods: Our research is descriptive and cross-sectional and was conducted with 410 housewives taking courses from four Hanımeli Culture and Art Centers located in the city center of Tokat. The Personal Information Form and the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS) prepared by the researcher were used. Data were evaluated using SPSS 24.0 program using percentage, mean, ANOVA, T tests, Mann Withney U and Kruskall Wallis tests. Findings: When the participants in our study experience a health problem, 72.9% immediately go to a health institution, 52.2% first prefer family medicine, and 71.2% have applied to a health institution 0-1 times in the last month. 48.5% of housewives spend an average of 1-2 hours on the internet to do health-related research, and 44.1% spend an average of 1-2 hours on the internet. 68.3 of the participants in the study perform a health search behavior on the internet before going to the doctor and think that this is useful. The mean score obtained from the compulsion sub-dimension is 15.38±6.32, 18.17±5.67 in the excessive anxiety dimension, 21.45±6.01 in the excessiveness dimension, 14.33±3.36 in the reassurance dimension, 8.04±3.36 in the distrust of the doctor dimension, and 77.36±14.40 in the total score of the SCÖ. A significant relationship was found between cyberchondria and education, income, frequency of applying to health institutions, using the internet or social media to cope with health problems, following health-related publications in the digital environment, and doing research on the internet without going to the doctor (p<0.05). Conclusion: While the sub-dimensions scores of housewives participating in the study were low on compulsion, excessive anxiety and comforting themselves, the sub-dimensions scores of excessiveness and distrust of doctors and the total score of cybercode were close to the medium level. The total scale score is higher for those who have a bachelor's degree or higher, whose income exceeds their expenses, who have applied to six or more health institutions in the last month, who do research on the internet without going to a doctor, who access the internet with other devices, and who frequently and always follow health-related publications in the digital environment. Key Words: Cyberchondria, Housewife, Health Anxiety, Public Health, Nursing