The Relationship Between Preoperative Cyberchondria Levels and Death Anxiety of Liver Donors.

This descriptive and correlational study aimed to investigate the relationship between preoperative levels of cyberchondria and death anxiety in liver donors. It was conducted with 158 liver transplant donors hospitalized in the organ transplant clinics of a Liver Transplant Institute in eastern Turkey. The total score for the death anxiety scale was high (9.97 ± 2.29), while the cyberchondria scale had a moderate mean total score (44.98 ± 5.86). A moderately significant positive correlation was observed between the total scores of the death anxiety and cyberchondria scales (r: 0.427, p: 0.000). The death anxiety variable was found to account for 18% of the cyberchondric tendencies observed in the donors (R2: 0.182). It was observed that individuals who became living donors while still alive and without any problems experienced high levels of death anxiety. In this situation, donors conducted their research on the internet, resulting in above-average levels of cyberchondria and the training and information provided by the transplant teams. Effective donor education and psychosocial support can reduce both death anxiety and cyberchondric tendencies in liver transplant donors.