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Online health research and health anxiety: A systematic review and conceptual integration.
Open accessAbstract
Using the Internet to obtain health information (“online health research”, OHR) is commonplace. This paper provides a systematic narrative review of evidence concerning the relationship between OHR and health anxiety. We conclude that health anxiety is associated with more frequent self-reported OHR, heightened distress after OHR, and increased doctor visits post-OHR. Evidence suggests that OHR often has a reassurance seeking function and can relieve anxiety, but that it can also cause alarm and become a distressing, compulsive behaviour. We present a novel model that integrates these perspectives and existing research within a single explanatory framework that distinguishes between problematic OHR and compulsive OHR and describes the role of positive and negative metacognitions in their respective development.
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“The fact that cyberchondria is a current topic is also made clear by the fact that in 2019, for example, a systematic narrative review [26] and a meta-analysis of cyberchondria and HA [27] were published.”
BackgroundMethodInfluential
Metadata
- Authors
- Brown, R. J., Skelly, N., & Chew-Graham, C. A.
- Affiliations
- Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
- NHS Lanarkshire (GB)
- Keele University (GB)
- Venue
- Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice
- Published
- 2020-06
- Volume
- 27
- Issue
- 2
- ISSN
- 0969-5893 (ISSN-L)
- 1468-2850
- OpenAlex
- W2950501406
- Cited by
- 140
- References
- 79
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 11
- FWCI
- 2.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Licence
- Locations
- Clinical Psychology Science and Practice (publishedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Keywords
- health anxiety, health information seeking, reassurance seeking, metacognition, physician visits, conceptual blending
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