Handbook of Research on Cyberchondria, Health Literacy, and the Role of Media in Society’s Perception of Medical Information

Book excerpt: Cyberchondria is characterized by a pattern of excessive health-based search behaviors that are likely to increase health anxiety or distress, heightened by ever-increasing access to and normalization of technology use and the internet specifically. The internet can be a source of valuable medical information and is an efficient vehicle for awareness-raising and dissemination; however, it can increase anxiety in audiences without medical knowledge or training and can pose a challenge to the traditional gatekeepers of medical knowledge and expertise. Technological advances are accelerating rapidly; however, concomitant to this acceleration, an epidemic of online mis- and dis-information that has the capacity to negatively impact general health, health literacy, and health behaviors globally now exists. The World Health Organization (WHO) has described this information overload as an infodemic. The Handbook of Research on Cyberchondria, Health Literacy, and the Role of Media in Society’s Perception of Medical Information covers a wide range of topics from the characteristics and prevalence of cyberchondria to the pandemic policy response and cybersecurity issues relating to eHealth initiatives and pandemic-related surges in cybercrime. Therefore, this publication has transdisciplinary relevance to professionals from healthcare, government, law enforcement, academia, the technology sector, media, cybersecurity, and education. Graduate and undergraduate students may also find it to be a beneficial resource, not only in terms of the study of cyberchondria but also in terms of the psychological and sociological implications of global crisis events. One of the key messages of this book is as follows: All stakeholders must work together strategically to disseminate authentic public health messages during any global health crisis. They must work to reduce health-related anxiety mediated by technology and seek to improve critical thinking skills and global health literacy.