Health Anxiety From the Pandemic Initiative

The COVID-19 pandemic intensified health anxiety, a common and costly condition marked by excessive fear of illness and functional impairment. Despite growing prevalence and impact, health anxiety remains under-recognized in clinical practice. Scalable, accessible interventions such as internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) are needed to address this gap. A three-arm randomized controlled trial with a waitlist control group was conducted to evaluate two self-guided digital interventions for health anxiety: THIS WAY UP iCBT and 90SecondHealth Anxiety compared to a control group. Canadian adults meeting eligibility criteria were randomized (1:1:1). Assessments occurred at baseline, post-intervention, and at one- and three-month follow-ups. Primary outcomes were health anxiety, depression, and generalized anxiety.

Inclusion Criteria: * at least 18 years old * reside in Canada * be fluent in either English or French * consent to participate in the study * have significant health anxiety as determined by scores on the SHHAI-18 Exclusion Criteria: * receiving psychological treatment for health anxiety * self-reported current psychosis * suicidal ideation or behavior * severe depression * substance use disorder * bipolar disorder * changes to any antidepressant medication(s) in the last two months * serious physical illness such as cancer, heart disease, or dementia * taking sedative medications such as benzodiazepines and/or atypical antipsychotic medications