The Relationship between Parents’ Use of the Pediatric Emergency Department and Cyberchondria

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the correlation between children’s attendance at the emergency department and the cyberchondria of parents. The population for this cross-sectional study comprised parents of children aged 0 to 18 attending the emergency department. Research data were collected using an Information Form, the Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS). The participants had mean CSS scores of 41.45 ± 19.22. There were significant differences observed between the reason for choosing the emergency department with mean scores for the total CSS (F = 2.289, P = .021), distress (F = 2.466, P = .013), and compulsion (F = 2.822, P = .005) subscales. A weak positive correlation was identified between the number of attendances at the emergency department in the last year and the excessiveness (r = .204) subscale. Participants had moderate levels of CSS. According to the research findings, most parents attended the emergency department for non-urgent reasons. In addition, as the cyberchondria severity level of parents increased, their attendance at health institutions and emergency departments was determined to increase.