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.