Risk Perception Towards Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV, Cyberochondria and Health Literacy at the Time of COVID-19 Pandemic

Cilj ovog rada je prikazati pregled dosadašnjih znanstvenih spoznaja o percepciji rizika zaraze HIV-om i drugim spolno prenosivim bolestima, kiberohondrije i zdravstvene pismenosti s naglaskom na trenutnu situaciju pandemije COVID-19. Republika Hrvatska je još uvijek zemlja niskog rizika epidemije HIV-a, dijelom zahvaljujući osnivanju 10 Centara za dobrovoljno, anonimno i besplatno savjetovanje i testiranje na HIV (CST). Percepcija rizika zaraze spolno prenosivom bolešću se opisuje kao vlastita procjena mogućnosti dobivanja iste. Zdravstvena ponašanja, pa tako i percepcija rizika, mogu se objasniti različitim modelima i teorijama, a jedan od prihvaćenih modela je socijalno-kognitivni model uvjerenja vezanih uz zdravlje (engl. Health Belief Model – HBM). Zdravstvena pismenost se definira kao osobne, kognitivne i socijalne vještine koje određuju sposobnost pojedinca da pristupi podacima o zdravlju, razumije ih i koristi. Kiberohodrija je anksiozni poremećaj karakteriziran ekscesivnim istraživanjem zdravstvenih sadržaja preko interneta. Pandemija COVID-19 je veliki događaj digitalne ere, uzimajući u obzir poremećaj izazvan u svim područjima života širom svijeta. Zbog izazvanog straha predstavlja plodno tlo za kiberohondriju.The aim of this paper is to present an overview of current scientific knowledge on the perception of the risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, cyberochondria and health literacy with an emphasis on the current situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. Croatia is still a low-risk country for the HIV epidemic, thanks in part to the establishment of 10 Centers for Voluntary, Anonymous and Free HIV Counseling and Testing (VCT). Risk perception of contracting a sexually transmitted disease is described as one\u27s own assessment of the possibility of getting it. Health behaviors, and thus risk perception, can be explained by various models and theories, and one of the accepted models is the socio-cognitive model of health beliefs (Health Belief Model - HBM). Health literacy is defined as personal, cognitive, and social skills that determine an individual’s ability to access, understand, and use health data. Cyberchodria is an anxiety disorder characterized by excessive research of health content over the Internet. The COVID-19 pandemic is a major event of the digital age, taking into account the disorder caused in all areas of life around the world. Due to the fear caused, it is a fertile ground for cyberochondria