Cyberchondria and its Association with Smartphone Addiction and Electronic Health Literacy among a Saudi Population

Ayat El-Zayat; Sundus Amin Namnkani; Nouf Abdullah Alshareef; Mashaer Mohammed Mustfa; Nuran Shukri Eminaga; Ghadah Ahmed Algarni

doi:10.4103/sjmms.sjmms_491_22

Cyberchondria and its Association with Smartphone Addiction and Electronic Health Literacy among a Saudi Population

Saudi J Med Med Sci. 2023 Apr-Jun;11(2):162-168. doi: 10.4103/sjmms.sjmms_491_22. Epub 2023 Apr 12.

Authors

Ayat El-Zayat¹, Sundus Amin Namnkani¹, Nouf Abdullah Alshareef¹, Mashaer Mohammed Mustfa¹, Nuran Shukri Eminaga¹, Ghadah Ahmed Algarni¹

Affiliation

¹ Clinical Sciences Department, Fakeeh College for Medical Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background: Cyberchondria is a recent phenomenon characterized by the excessive/frequent searching of the internet for health-related information (HRI) that results in concerns/anxiety over health and wellness. Studies have shown an increase in the prevalence of cyberchondria and that it is associated with smartphone addiction and eHealth literacy, but few such studies are available from Saudi Arabia.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included adult Saudis living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and was conducted between May 1 and June 30, 2022. A four-section questionnaire was distributed using Google Forms, and included the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS), Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS), and Electronic Health Literacy scale (eHEALS). The scales were translated into Arabic using the forward-backward technique, and then evaluated for content validity, face validity, and reliability.

Results: The reliability of the translated versions was satisfactory: CSS Cronbach's alpha = 0.882; SAS = 0.887; eHEALS = 0.903. A total of 518 participants were inlcuded, of which the majority were female (64.1%). The prevalence of cyberchondria was 2.1% (95% CI: 1.1-3.8), 83.4% (79.9-86.5), and 14.5% (11.6-17.8) for low, moderate, and high grades, respectively. Two-thirds of the participants (66.6%) had smartphone addiction, while three-fourths (72.6%) had a high level of eHealth literacy. There were significant correlations between cyberchondria and smartphone addiction (r = 0.395, CI = 0.316/0.475, P = 0.0001) and high eHealth literacy (r = 0.265, CI = 0.182/0.349, P = 0.0001).

Conclusion: The study revealed a high prevalence of cyberchondria in a Saudi population, and this was associated with smartphone addiction and high eHealth literacy.

Keywords: Compulsive behavior; Saudi Arabia; cyberchondria; health literacy; health-related information; internet addiction; mental health; smartphone addiction.