Digital health information-seeking behavior correlates of parental cyberchondria severity in Pediatric care
Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1016/j.pedn.2026.10.028
- Dergi Adı: Journal of Pediatric Nursing
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Health Research Premium Collection (ProQuest)
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Cyberchondria, Digital health behavior, Online health information seeking, Parents, Pediatric care
- Van Yüzüncü Yıl Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Aim Limited evidence addresses whether digital health information-seeking behaviors are independently associated with parental cyberchondria in pediatric settings. We examined these associations after adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics and psychological well-being. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in the pediatric ward of a hospital in eastern Türkiye from August 2024 to January 2025 using convenience sampling. Eligible participants were adults accompanying a child aged 0–18 years who could consent and complete the questionnaire. Of 482 invited parents, 27 declined and 455 completed a self-administered questionnaire in the child's room. Hierarchical linear regression with HC3 robust standard errors included 451 complete cases. Results The 16 item-level indicators increased explained variance by 50.0 percentage points (ΔR2 = 0.500, p < .001); the final model explained 57.6% (adjusted R2 = 0.553). Higher scores were associated with reliance on non-health-professional rather than health-professional sources (B = 3.531, 95% CI [0.340, 6.721], p = .030), greater search frequency (B = 1.771, 95% CI [0.909, 2.633], p < .001), pre-hospital searching (B = 3.412, p = .002), increased worry about the child's health (B = 2.952, p = .004), and sleep pattern disruption (B = 3.617, p < .001). Conclusion Digital health information-seeking behaviors were associated with parental cyberchondria severity. These findings, derived from parents of children receiving care in a pediatric clinical setting, may inform health-informatics-supported pediatric nursing care by providing insight into parents' digital health information-seeking experiences and related communication needs. Causality cannot be inferred because of the cross-sectional design. Patient or Public Contribution No patients or members of the public were involved in the design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, or reporting of this study. Parents participated only as questionnaire respondents.