E-ISSN 2617-9784 | ISSN 2617-1791
 

Original Article
Online Published: 29 Oct 2019
 


Assessment of cyberchondria among patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan

Maria Naseer Malik, Mir Ahmed Talha Mustafa, Maira Yaseen, Sanniya Khan Ghauri, Arslaan Javaeed.


Cited By: 6

Abstract
OBJECTIVE

Cyberchondriasis is an emerging mental health disorder in lower and middle-income countries. The study was aimed for assessment of cyberchondriasis in patients presenting to the emergency department of three tertiary care hospitals of Pakistan

METHODS
A questionnaire-based study, formulated on the Cyberchondriasis Severity Scale, was carried out in three emergency departments of
tertiary care hospitals in Islamabad, Pakistan. The study duration was three months i.e. March to May 2019. A self-reported questionnaire was distributed amongst participants and results were calculated through SPSS version 23. Ethical approval was obtained.

RESULTS
Out of 958 participants, 304 people returned the questionnaire with a response rate of 31.4%. 189 patients (62.17%) admitted that if they would notice an unexplained bodily sensation, they would often search for it on the internet. Alarmingly, a significant population
(11.18%) of the participants said that they would rarely trust their GP over their online self-diagnosis. Online searching and self-diagnosis
made 244 patients (80.26%) panic while 32 patients (10.52%) always found it difficult to sleep after researching perceived medical conditions.

CONCLUSION
Many aspects of cyberchondriasis are evident in the study. Further studies are required to report the exact prevalence and association with mental health.

Key words: Cyberchondria; Psychological Disorder; Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS); Emergency Department; Pakistan


 
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How to Cite this Article
Pubmed Style

Malik MN, Mustafa MAT, Yaseen M, Ghauri SK, Javaeed A. Assessment of cyberchondria among patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan. SAJEM. 2019; 2(2): 19-23. doi:10.5455/sajem.020207


Web Style

Malik MN, Mustafa MAT, Yaseen M, Ghauri SK, Javaeed A. Assessment of cyberchondria among patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan. https://www.sajem.org/?mno=65486 [Access: September 12, 2024]. doi:10.5455/sajem.020207


AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Malik MN, Mustafa MAT, Yaseen M, Ghauri SK, Javaeed A. Assessment of cyberchondria among patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan. SAJEM. 2019; 2(2): 19-23. doi:10.5455/sajem.020207



Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Malik MN, Mustafa MAT, Yaseen M, Ghauri SK, Javaeed A. Assessment of cyberchondria among patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan. SAJEM. (2019), [cited September 12, 2024]; 2(2): 19-23. doi:10.5455/sajem.020207



Harvard Style

Malik, M. N., Mustafa, . M. A. T., Yaseen, . M., Ghauri, . S. K. & Javaeed, . A. (2019) Assessment of cyberchondria among patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan. SAJEM, 2 (2), 19-23. doi:10.5455/sajem.020207



Turabian Style

Malik, Maria Naseer, Mir Ahmed Talha Mustafa, Maira Yaseen, Sanniya Khan Ghauri, and Arslaan Javaeed. 2019. Assessment of cyberchondria among patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan. South Asian Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2 (2), 19-23. doi:10.5455/sajem.020207



Chicago Style

Malik, Maria Naseer, Mir Ahmed Talha Mustafa, Maira Yaseen, Sanniya Khan Ghauri, and Arslaan Javaeed. "Assessment of cyberchondria among patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan." South Asian Journal of Emergency Medicine 2 (2019), 19-23. doi:10.5455/sajem.020207



MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

Malik, Maria Naseer, Mir Ahmed Talha Mustafa, Maira Yaseen, Sanniya Khan Ghauri, and Arslaan Javaeed. "Assessment of cyberchondria among patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan." South Asian Journal of Emergency Medicine 2.2 (2019), 19-23. Print. doi:10.5455/sajem.020207



APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Malik, M. N., Mustafa, . M. A. T., Yaseen, . M., Ghauri, . S. K. & Javaeed, . A. (2019) Assessment of cyberchondria among patients presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan. South Asian Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2 (2), 19-23. doi:10.5455/sajem.020207