Impact of Information Overload on Fear of Disease Progression in Surgical Patients: Serial Mediation by Decisional Conflict and Generalized Anxiety.

This study investigates how information overload influences fear of disease progression among 579 surgical patients at a tertiary hospital in China, specifically examining the independent and serial mediating effects of decisional conflict and generalized anxiety. Using validated scales and a chain mediation model with bias-corrected bootstrapping, the results demonstrate that information overload significantly predicts increased decisional conflict, anxiety, and fear of disease progression. Path analysis confirmed a significant direct effect of information overload on fear, while also identifying three critical indirect trajectories: independent mediation by decisional conflict, independent mediation by anxiety, and a serial pathway from decisional conflict to anxiety. This total indirect effect constituted the majority of the comprehensive impact. The findings indicate that excessive medical information exacerbates fear of disease progression both directly and indirectly by triggering cognitive stressors and escalating emotional responses. These results suggest that optimizing the delivery of health information is essential for reducing decisional conflict and mitigating psychological distress in surgical settings.