Do-it-yourself health

Wheatley, Frances; Brown, J. Howard; Holyoake, Dean-David; Clarkson, Duncan

doi:10.7748/ns.17.38.22.s37

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Therefore, the technology perspective has shown how the algorithm and intelligent search technology increasingly comprise what Peters (2015 , p. 37) called the infrastructure of social interaction. Echoing this prediction, some studies have explored how self-diagnosis is influenced by people sharing symptoms in online health-topic communities ( Wheatley et al, 2003 ; Giles and Newbold, 2013 ); others have exhorted doctors to give patients more authoritative sources of information ( Conell et al, 2016 ) or to deliver mediations such as internet cognitive behavioral therapy ( Newby and McElroy, 2020 ). Therefore, further research is required on the relationship between cyberchondria, online source verification, and social trust.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating the Obsessive and Compulsive Features of Cyberchondria: A Holistic Review

Yang

2022

Front. Psychol.

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BackgroundCyberchondria has been brought into sharp focus during the COVID-19 health emergency; it refers to individuals who obsessively and compulsively search for health information online, resulting in excessive health concerns. Recent scholarship focuses on its obsessive and compulsive aspect, following a biopsychosocial approach as opposed to a pathology of health anxiety. It lacks interpretation of the socio-psychological dynamics between the dimensions.ObjectiveThis review aims to propose a holistic view toward understanding cyberchondria as an obsessive–compulsive syndrome and considers possible interventions. It specifically seeks to explain cyberchondria from diversified mediator variables and to pinpoint connections between each perspective.MethodologyComprehensive searches of databases such as PubMed and Springer were conducted to identify English articles relating to cyberchondria from 2001 to 2022. Based on a systematic filtering process, 27 articles were finally reviewed.FindingsThe authors compare and confirm three forecasts to predict cyberchondria, associating it with individual metacognition, uncertainty of unverified information, and algorithm-driven, biased information environments.ValueTheoretically, a holistic framework is proposed to explain the obsessive and compulsive features of cyberchondria. Clinically, the research calls for more professional psychoeducation and chain screening of cyberchondria and other psychological disorders. Socially, it promotes support for risk-sensitive, information-deficient groups during pandemics like COVID-19. It also stresses more careful use of algorithm-driven search engine technology for platforms delivering medical information. Future research may explore areas such as the association between cyberchondria and other social-related disorders, as well as correlations among cyberchondria, obsessive and compulsive disorders, medical trust, and algorithm-driven search results.

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