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Not yet recruitingNCT07834216Updated Sep 22, 2026

The Effect of Structured Health Information-Seeking Training on Cyberchondria and E-Health Literacy in Menopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial

An interventional study of Video-Based Health Information-Seeking Education and Pecha Kucha-Based Health Information-Seeking Education in Perimenopause, Postmenopause and Cyberchondria, sponsored by Istanbul University. Not yet recruiting. Open to female participants aged 45 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-22.

Sponsored by Istanbul University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
60
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
45 Years to 65 Years
Sex
Female
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Study summary

This randomized controlled study will examine whether two different forms of structured health information-seeking education can help women in perimenopause or postmenopause use online health information more effectively. It will assess whether video-based education and Pecha Kucha-based education reduce cyberchondria, which refers to repeated online health searches that may increase health-related worry, and improve e-health literacy and knowledge about menopause.

The study will include 60 women aged 40 to 65 years. Participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to a video-based education group, a Pecha Kucha-based education group, or a control group, with 20 participants in each group. The education will cover how to identify reliable online health sources, evaluate health information, recognize misleading content, use effective search methods, and avoid online searching behaviors that may increase anxiety. The control group will not receive structured education during the study period. Outcomes will be assessed before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and one month later. The findings will help determine which educational method is more effective in supporting safe and informed online health information-seeking among women during the menopausal transition.

Read the detailed description

The increasing use of the internet as a source of health information may help women access information about menopause, but it may also expose them to inaccurate, misleading, or anxiety-provoking content. Repeated online searching for symptoms and diseases may increase health-related worry and contribute to cyberchondria. Therefore, the ability to find, understand, evaluate, and appropriately use online health information is particularly important during the menopausal transition.

This study is designed as a three-arm, parallel-group randomized controlled trial to compare the effects of video-based and Pecha Kucha-based structured health information-seeking education among women in perimenopause or postmenopause. A total of 60 women will be randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to the video-based education group, the Pecha Kucha-based education group, or the control group. Each group will include 20 participants.

Participants in the video-based education group will receive structured health information-seeking education through a video. Participants in the Pecha Kucha-based education group will receive structured education through a concise, visually focused Pecha Kucha presentation. Both educational approaches will address the benefits and risks of seeking health information online, methods for identifying reliable sources, evaluation of authorship and scientific evidence, recognition of advertising and misleading content, effective search strategies, verification of information across multiple sources, and strategies for limiting repetitive online searches that may increase anxiety. The control group will not receive structured health information-seeking education during the study period.

Data will be collected from all three groups at three time points: before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and one month after the intervention. The study will examine changes in cyberchondria severity, e-health literacy, and menopause knowledge over time. Changes will be compared among the video-based education, Pecha Kucha-based education, and control groups. The findings will provide evidence regarding the effectiveness of the two educational approaches and help determine which method better supports safe and informed online health information-seeking during the menopausal transition.

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Conditions studied

  • Perimenopause
  • Postmenopause
  • Cyberchondria
  • E-Health Literacy

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Keywords

  • Menopause
  • Perimenopause
  • Postmenopause
  • Cyberchondria
  • E-Health Literacy
  • Online Health Information Seeking
  • Digital Health Literacy
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In context

Literacy

201 studies on the registry are indexed under Literacy; 69 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 60 is below the median of 124 across 170 interventional studies indexed under Literacy.

Browse Literacy studies →

Lead sponsor

Istanbul University is the lead sponsor of 511 studies on the registry; 78 are open to participants now.

Of its 5 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 1 (20%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
45 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
Female
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Aged 40 to 65 years
  • Being in the perimenopausal or period
  • Able to read and understand Turkish
  • Having experience using a smartphone, the internet, or social media
  • Willing to participate and able to provide

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Having a diagnosed psychiatric disorder
  • Having a neurological disorder that affects cognitive functioning
  • Having a hearing or visual impairment that prevents effective communication or participation
  • Having a severe health condition that prevents regular participation in the study
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Postmenopausal

Periods have stopped for good: usually no period for 12 months in a row without another medical reason, sometimes confirmed by a blood test (FSH).

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
60 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Video-Based Education Group

    Participants will receive structured health information-seeking education delivered through a video.

    Other: Video-Based Health Information-Seeking Education

  • Experimental
    Pecha Kucha-Based Education Group

    Participants will receive structured health information-seeking education delivered using the Pecha Kucha presentation format.

    Other: Pecha Kucha-Based Health Information-Seeking Education

  • No intervention
    Control Group

    Participants will not receive structured health information-seeking education during the study period. They will complete the assessments at the same time points as the intervention groups.

Interventions

  • OtherVideo-Based Health Information-Seeking Education

    Video-Based Health Information-Seeking Education: Participants will receive structured health information-seeking education through an educational video. The video will explain the benefits and risks of searching for health information online; how to assess the author, institution, publication date, and scientific basis of online content; how to recognize advertisements, commercial content, sensational headlines, and misleading social media information; how to use appropriate search terms and verify information across multiple reliable sources; and how to limit repetitive searches that may increase health-related anxiety. The video format allows the educational content to be delivered in a standardized audiovisual format.

  • OtherPecha Kucha-Based Health Information-Seeking Education

    Pecha Kucha-Based Health Information-Seeking Education: Participants will receive structured health information-seeking education using the Pecha Kucha presentation format. The presentation will consist of 20 visually focused slides, each displayed automatically for

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Cyberchondria Severity Scale-Short Form Score

    Cyberchondria will be assessed using the 12-item Cyberchondria Severity Scale-Short Form (CSS-12). The scale evaluates excessive online health searches, distress, reassurance seeking, and compulsive searching. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale. Total scores range from 12 to 60, with higher scores indicating greater cyberchondria severity. Changes in scores will be compared among the video-based education, Pecha Kucha-based education, and control groups.

    Time frame: Baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 1 month after the intervention

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in E-Health Literacy Scale Score

    E-health literacy will be assessed using the E-Health Literacy Scale. The scale evaluates participants' perceived ability to find, understand, evaluate, and use health information obtained from electronic sources. The eight scored items are rated on a 5-point scale, producing a total score ranging from 8 to 40. Higher scores indicate greater e-health literacy. Changes in scores will be compared among the three study groups.

    Time frame: Baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 1 month after the intervention

Other outcomes

  1. Change in Menopause Knowledge Scale Score

    Knowledge about menopause will be assessed using the 14-item Menopause Knowledge Scale. The scale includes two domains: general menopause knowledge and knowledge of menopausal symptoms and their management. Total scores range from 14 to 70, with higher scores indicating greater menopause knowledge. Changes in scores will be compared among the three study groups.

    Time frame: Baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 1 month after the intervention

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

References and documents

Publications

  • Fu Y, Han P, Wang J, Shahzad F. Digital pathways to healthcare: a systematic review for unveiling the trends and insights in online health information-seeking behavior. Front Public Health. 2025 Feb 12;13:1497025. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1497025. eCollection 2025. PubMed 40013047 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — Individual participant data will not be shared with other researchers because the data contain personal health information and external data sharing is not included in the current study protocol and ethical approval. Study findings will be reported only in aggregate form to protect participant confidentiality.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 22, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07834216
Collaborators
Dr Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital
Responsible party
Merve Tuncer (Asistant Professor, Istanbul University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Sep 22, 2026
Start date
Jan 24, 2027 (estimated)
Primary completion
Mar 30, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Jun 1, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 22, 2026

Study contacts

Merve TUNCER, PhD
Contact
merve.tuncer@istanbul.edu.tr
+905375048017

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Sep 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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