Investigating the Potential Connection Between Cyberchondria and Vaccine Hesitancy in High School Students

Internet use, which provides the opportunity to access information from anywhere, and anytime, is increasing among adolescents and young adults. In studies examining the effect of technology use in adults, it has been observed that there is a relationship between cyberchondria and vaccine hesitancy....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) CA), 2023-01, Vol.15 (1), p.e34218-e34218
Main Authors: Üzüm, Özlem, Ince, Gülberat, Eliaçık, Kayı, Kanık, Ali, Elmalı, Ferhan, Helvacı, Mehmet
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age groups
Anxiety
Coronaviruses
Correlation analysis
COVID-19 vaccines
Disease
Epidemiology/Public Health
False information
Females
Gender
Immunization
Internet
Likert scale
Other
Pandemics
Pediatrics
Personal health
Professionals
Public health
Questionnaires
Secondary school students
Secondary schools
Teenagers
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Summary:Internet use, which provides the opportunity to access information from anywhere, and anytime, is increasing among adolescents and young adults. In studies examining the effect of technology use in adults, it has been observed that there is a relationship between cyberchondria and vaccine hesitancy. This study aimed to uncover the potential relationship between cyberchondria and vaccine hesitancy in adolescents and to obtain data for combating anti-vaccination in this age group. A total of 2.353 high school students were enrolled within the scope of this research. The forms were delivered to the students online and 531 volunteers participated in the survey. The Cyberchondria Severity Scale and Vaccine Hesitancy Scale were used to evaluate the details of the relationship between cyberchondria and vaccine hesitancy levels in adolescents. The compulsion subscales of the Cyberchondria Severity Scale in males and vaccine repugnance subscales of the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale in females were statistically significantly higher. Cyberchondria and vaccine hesitancy have a strong relationship with each other except benefits and protective value of vaccines subscale of vaccine hesitancy. Health policymakers should be aware of this relationship and there is a need to develop novel online intervention programs for combating anti-vaccination, particularly among cyberchondriac adolescents who have relatively high vaccination hesitancy, particularly during the pandemic.
ISSN:2168-8184
2168-8184
DOI:10.7759/cureus.34218