scholarly journals Fluctuation of Public Interest in COVID-19 in the United States: Retrospective Analysis of Google Trends Search Data

10.2196/19969 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. e19969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iltifat Husain ◽  
Blake Briggs ◽  
Cedric Lefebvre ◽  
David M Cline ◽  
Jason P Stopyra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Control Search ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
Search Data ◽  
Internet Searches

Background In the absence of vaccines and established treatments, nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are fundamental tools to control coronavirus disease (COVID-19) transmission. NPIs require public interest to be successful. In the United States, there is a lack of published research on the factors that influence public interest in COVID-19. Using Google Trends, we examined the US level of public interest in COVID-19 and how it correlated to testing and with other countries. Objective The aim of this study was to determine how public interest in COVID-19 in the United States changed over time and the key factors that drove this change, such as testing. US public interest in COVID-19 was compared to that in countries that have been more successful in their containment and mitigation strategies. Methods In this retrospective study, Google Trends was used to analyze the volume of internet searches within the United States relating to COVID-19, focusing on dates between December 31, 2019, and March 24, 2020. The volume of internet searches related to COVID-19 was compared to that in other countries. Results Throughout January and February 2020, there was limited search interest in COVID-19 within the United States. Interest declined for the first 21 days of February. A similar decline was seen in geographical regions that were later found to be experiencing undetected community transmission in February. Between March 9 and March 12, 2020, there was a rapid rise in search interest. This rise in search interest was positively correlated with the rise of positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 (6.3, 95% CI −2.9 to 9.7; P<.001). Within the United States, it took 52 days for search interest to rise substantially after the first positive case; in countries with more successful outbreak control, search interest rose in less than 15 days. Conclusions Containment and mitigation strategies require public interest to be successful. The initial level of COVID-19 public interest in the United States was limited and even decreased during a time when containment and mitigation strategies were being established. A lack of public interest in COVID-19 existed in the United States when containment and mitigation policies were in place. Based on our analysis, it is clear that US policy makers need to develop novel methods of communicating COVID-19 public health initiatives.

scholarly journals Fluctuation of Public Interest in COVID-19 in the United States: Retrospective Analysis of Google Trends Search Data (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iltifat Husain ◽  
Blake Briggs ◽  
Cedric Lefebvre ◽  
David M Cline ◽  
Jason P Stopyra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Control Search ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
Search Data ◽  
Internet Searches

BACKGROUND In the absence of vaccines and established treatments, nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are fundamental tools to control coronavirus disease (COVID-19) transmission. NPIs require public interest to be successful. In the United States, there is a lack of published research on the factors that influence public interest in COVID-19. Using Google Trends, we examined the US level of public interest in COVID-19 and how it correlated to testing and with other countries. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to determine how public interest in COVID-19 in the United States changed over time and the key factors that drove this change, such as testing. US public interest in COVID-19 was compared to that in countries that have been more successful in their containment and mitigation strategies. METHODS In this retrospective study, Google Trends was used to analyze the volume of internet searches within the United States relating to COVID-19, focusing on dates between December 31, 2019, and March 24, 2020. The volume of internet searches related to COVID-19 was compared to that in other countries. RESULTS Throughout January and February 2020, there was limited search interest in COVID-19 within the United States. Interest declined for the first 21 days of February. A similar decline was seen in geographical regions that were later found to be experiencing undetected community transmission in February. Between March 9 and March 12, 2020, there was a rapid rise in search interest. This rise in search interest was positively correlated with the rise of positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 (6.3, 95% CI −2.9 to 9.7; <i>P</i>&lt;.001). Within the United States, it took 52 days for search interest to rise substantially after the first positive case; in countries with more successful outbreak control, search interest rose in less than 15 days. CONCLUSIONS Containment and mitigation strategies require public interest to be successful. The initial level of COVID-19 public interest in the United States was limited and even decreased during a time when containment and mitigation strategies were being established. A lack of public interest in COVID-19 existed in the United States when containment and mitigation policies were in place. Based on our analysis, it is clear that US policy makers need to develop novel methods of communicating COVID-19 public health initiatives.

scholarly journals Increase in Google Trends Regarding Telogen Effluvium Due To COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-139
Author(s):  
Jasmine Garg ◽  
Abigail Cline ◽  
Frederick Pereira
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Hair Loss ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
The United States ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
The Future ◽  
Before And After

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the public interest in the United States of telogen effluvium before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in order to investigate the best therapeutic interventions for dermatologists in the future. Methods: We performed Google TrendsTM search for “COVID hair loss”, “telogen effluvium” and “hair loss” between 5/1/20 and 8/16/20. Conclusion: All three terms have increased in popularity for search terms since mid-March and were the most prevalent in the states that experienced the earliest increase in number of coronavirus cases.

scholarly journals The Causality Inference of Public Interest in Restaurants and Bars on Daily COVID-19 Cases in the United States: Google Trends Analysis

10.2196/22880 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. e22880
Author(s):  
Milad Asgari Mehrabadi ◽  
Nikil Dutt ◽  
Amir M Rahmani
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Granger Causality ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Granger Causality Test ◽  
The United States ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Causality Test ◽  
Us States ◽  
Search Queries ◽  
Google Search

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has affected virtually every region in the world. At the time of this study, the number of daily new cases in the United States was greater than that in any other country, and the trend was increasing in most states. Google Trends provides data regarding public interest in various topics during different periods. Analyzing these trends using data mining methods may provide useful insights and observations regarding the COVID-19 outbreak. Objective The objective of this study is to consider the predictive ability of different search terms not directly related to COVID-19 with regard to the increase of daily cases in the United States. In particular, we are concerned with searches related to dine-in restaurants and bars. Data were obtained from the Google Trends application programming interface and the COVID-19 Tracking Project. Methods To test the causation of one time series on another, we used the Granger causality test. We considered the causation of two different search query trends related to dine-in restaurants and bars on daily positive cases in the US states and territories with the 10 highest and 10 lowest numbers of daily new cases of COVID-19. In addition, we used Pearson correlations to measure the linear relationships between different trends. Results Our results showed that for states and territories with higher numbers of daily cases, the historical trends in search queries related to bars and restaurants, which mainly occurred after reopening, significantly affected the number of daily new cases on average. California, for example, showed the most searches for restaurants on June 7, 2020; this affected the number of new cases within two weeks after the peak, with a P value of .004 for the Granger causality test. Conclusions Although a limited number of search queries were considered, Google search trends for restaurants and bars showed a significant effect on daily new cases in US states and territories with higher numbers of daily new cases. We showed that these influential search trends can be used to provide additional information for prediction tasks regarding new cases in each region. These predictions can help health care leaders manage and control the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on society and prepare for its outcomes.

scholarly journals Return to normal operations: COVID-19 mitigation strategies for workplaces

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 711-717
Author(s):  
Justine Parker ◽  
Corey Boles ◽  
Natalie Egnot ◽  
Alexander Sundermann ◽  
Alan Fleeger
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
State And Local

As spikes and resurgences of COVID-19 cases continue to increase in different geographical regions across the United States, more and more companies are left with numerous questions about reopening or restarting their operations. The current pandemic in the United States poses unique challenges unlike any other for businesses and employers as they begin to reopen. Businesses and employers are forced to ensure that they are not only in compliance with federal guidances but also with state and local guidances. In addition to the complex and ever evolving guidances, we are still learning about and adapting best practices during these reopening phases. Therefore, it is crucial for businesses to stay up-to-date not only with the released guidances but also with the latest understanding and information about SARS-CoV-2. As part of reopening, it is crucial for businesses to have comprehensive reopening plans prior to restart of operation. These plans must be clear, concise, and flexible enough to include updated guidances and information. In this publication, we describe reopening frameworks, considerations, and strategies that can be used as a starting point for businesses to further optimize and tailor to their unique operations.

scholarly journals Increasing Utility of Google Trends in Monitoring Cardiovascular Disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conor Senecal ◽  
Madeline Mahowald ◽  
Lilach Lerman ◽  
Francisco Lopez-Jimenez ◽  
Amir Lerman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Strong Correlation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Online Search ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Search Data ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Introduction: Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and in the world. Patients are increasingly using internet search to find health-related information, including searches for cardiovascular diseases and risk factors. We sought to evaluate the change in the state by state correlation of cardiovascular disease and risk factors with Google Trends search volumes. Methods: Data on cardiovascular disease hospitalizations and risk factor prevalence were obtained from the publically available CDC website from 2006-2018. Google Trends data were obtained for matching conditions and time periods. Simple linear regression was performed to evaluate for an increase in correlation over time. Results: Hospitalizations for six separate cardiovascular disease conditions showed moderate to strong correlation with online search data in the last period studied (heart failure (0.58, P<0.001), atrial fibrillation (0.57, P<0.001), coronary heart disease (0.58, P<0.001), myocardial infarction (0.70, P<0.001), stroke (0.62, P<0.001), cardiac dysrhythmia (0.46, P<0.001)). All diseases studied showed a positive increase in correlation throughout the time period studied (P<0.05). All five of the cardiovascular risk factors studied showed strong correlation with online search data; diabetes (R=0.78, P<0.001), cigarette use (R=0.79, P<0.001), hypertension (R=0.81, P<0.001), high cholesterol (R=0.59, P<0.001), obesity (R=0.80, P<0.001). Three of the five showed an increasing correlation over time. Conclusion: The prevalence of and hospitalizations for cardiovascular conditions in the United States strongly correlate with online search volumes nationwide and when analyzed by state. This relationship has progressively strengthened or been strong and stable over recent years for these conditions. Google Trends represents an increasingly valuable tool for evaluating the burden of cardiovascular disease and risk factors in the United States.

scholarly journals Breast Cancer Awareness Month: The Impact of Even the Most Successful Campaigns Fades

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frédéric Lapostolle ◽  
Lisa Weisslinger ◽  
Charles Durand ◽  
Frédéric Adnet
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
United States ◽  
Public Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Cancer Awareness ◽  
Search Volume ◽  
Breast Cancer Awareness ◽  
Internet Searches ◽  
The Impact

Abstract BackgroundFor over 35 years the ‘Breast Cancer Awareness Month’ (BCAM) has worked to increase public information about breast cancer and to raise funds for research. The aim of this study was to analyze how the interest generated by this campaign evolved over time, in the US and other countries.MethodsWe investigated the Google Trends® according to previously recommended methods. The study was based on Internet searches using the term ‘’breast cancer’’ worldwide and in the United-States. Google Trends® gives the relative search volume of every request as an index on a scale from 0 to 100, (100 corresponding to the maximum number of requests during the studied period). We compared the relative searches index using the term ‘’breast cancer’’ during October, the breast cancer awareness month, and the rest of the of the year avec a 10 years period.Results120 months were analyzed including 10 October months. Median index for worldwide searches on ‘’breast cancer’’ during the 110 months was 35 (34-39). It didn’t significantly change during the study period (R2=0,3). Median index of the 10 peaks was 83 (64-92) (p<0,001 vs 110 months). The peak index linearly decreased (R2=0,88) during the study period. It reached 100 in 2012 and 64 in 2020. In the United-States, median index for searches during the 110 months was 28 (26-32). It didn’t significantly change during the study period (R2=0,3). Median index of the 10 peaks was 83 (63-92) (p<0,001 vs 110 months). The peak index linearly decreased (R2=0,73) during the study period. It reached 100 in 2012 and 64 in 2020.ConclusionsThis internet activity study shows that the impact of the ‘Breast Cancer Awareness Month’ seems to be slowly decreasing. The number of Internet searches generated by the campaign has been reduced by almost 40% in both the United-States and worldwide.

scholarly journals The Influence of Media Coverage and Governmental Policies on Google Queries Related to COVID-19 Cutaneous Symptoms: Infodemiology Study

10.2196/25651 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. e25651
Author(s):  
Solene Huynh Dagher ◽  
Guillaume Lamé ◽  
Thomas Hubiche ◽  
Khaled Ezzedine ◽  
Tu Anh Duong
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
The United States ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
World Health ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Internet Searches ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Over Time

Background During COVID-19, studies have reported the appearance of internet searches for disease symptoms before their validation by the World Health Organization. This suggested that monitoring of these searches with tools including Google Trends may help monitor the pandemic itself. In Europe and North America, dermatologists reported an unexpected outbreak of cutaneous acral lesions (eg, chilblain-like lesions) in April 2020. However, external factors such as public communications may also hinder the use of Google Trends as an infodemiology tool. Objective The study aimed to assess the impact of media announcements and lockdown enforcement on internet searches related to cutaneous acral lesions during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. Methods Two searches on Google Trends, including daily relative search volumes for (1) “toe” or “chilblains” and (2) “coronavirus,” were performed from January 1 to May 16, 2020, with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany as the countries of choice. The ratio of interest over time in “chilblains” and “coronavirus” was plotted. To assess the impact of lockdown enforcement and media coverage on these internet searches, we performed an interrupted time-series analysis for each country. Results The ratio of interest over time in “chilblains” to “coronavirus” showed a constant upward trend. In France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, lockdown enforcement was associated with a significant slope change for “chilblain” searches with a variation coefficient of 1.06 (SE 0.42) (P=0.01), 1.04 (SE 0.28) (P<.01), and 1.21 (SE 0.44) (P=0.01), respectively. After media announcements, these ratios significantly increased in France, Spain, Italy, and the United States with variation coefficients of 18.95 (SE 5.77) (P=.001), 31.31 (SE 6.31) (P<.001), 14.57 (SE 6.33) (P=.02), and 11.24 (SE 4.93) (P=.02), respectively, followed by a significant downward trend in France (–1.82 [SE 0.45]), Spain (–1.10 [SE 0.38]), and Italy (–0.93 [SE 0.33]) (P<.001, P=0.004, and P<.001, respectively). The adjusted R2 values were 0.311, 0.351, 0.325, and 0.305 for France, Spain, Italy, and the United States, respectively, suggesting an average correlation between time and the search volume; however, this correlation was weak for Germany and the United Kingdom. Conclusions To date, the association between chilblain-like lesions and COVID-19 remains controversial; however, our results indicate that Google queries of “chilblain” were highly influenced by media coverage and government policies, indicating that caution should be exercised when using Google Trends as a monitoring tool for emerging diseases.

scholarly journals Increasing utility of Google Trends in monitoring cardiovascular disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 205520762110334
Author(s):  
Conor Senecal ◽  
Madeline Mahowald ◽  
Lilach Lerman ◽  
Francisco Lopes-Jimenez ◽  
Amir Lerman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Strong Correlation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Online Search ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Search Data ◽  
Over Time

Introduction Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Patients are increasingly using internet search to find health-related information, including searches for cardiovascular diseases and risk factors. We sought to evaluate the change in the state by state correlation of cardiovascular disease and risk factors with Google Trends search volumes. Methods Data on cardiovascular disease hospitalizations and risk factor prevalence were obtained from the publically available Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website from 2006 to 2018. Google Trends data were obtained for matching conditions and time periods. Simple linear regression was performed to evaluate for an increase in correlation over time. Results Hospitalizations for six separate cardiovascular disease conditions showed moderate to strong correlation with online search data in the last period studied (heart failure (0.58, p < .001), atrial fibrillation (0.57, p < .001), coronary heart disease (0.58, p < .001), myocardial infarction (0.70, p < .001), stroke (0.62, p < .001), cardiac dysrhythmia (0.46, p < .001)) in the United States. All diseases studied showed a positive increase in correlation throughout the time period studied ( p < .05). All five of the cardiovascular risk factors studied showed strong correlation with online search data; diabetes ( R = 0.78, p < .001), cigarette use ( R = 0.79, p < .001), hypertension ( R = 0.81, p < .001), high cholesterol ( R = 0.59, p < .001), and obesity ( p = 0.80, p < .001) in the United States. Three of the five risk factors showed an increasing correlation over time. Conclusion The prevalence of and hospitalizations for cardiovascular conditions in the United States strongly correlate with online search volumes in the United States when analyzed by state. This relationship has progressively strengthened or been strong and stable over recent years for these conditions. Google Trends represents an increasingly valuable tool for evaluating the burden of cardiovascular disease and risk factors in the United States.

Decrease in Awareness of Hematologic Malignancies in the United States: Temporal Analysis of Google Trends Search Data from 2004 to 2015

Blood ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 128 (22) ◽  
pp. 3565-3565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeel M. Khan ◽  
Alok A. Khorana
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Search Engine ◽  
Research Funding ◽  
Hematologic Malignancies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Sen’S Slope ◽  
Internet Searches ◽  
Over Time

Abstract Background: Digital and surveillance epidemiology via internet search engine analysis has allowed for new insights into patients' and laypersons' health concerns and awareness. Google Trends in particular has become an increasingly well-published data resource as it automatically compiles all Google searches from 2004 to the present from internet users worldwide into an aggregated, passively-collected, and publicly viewable data site. Over the past few years, cancer awareness campaigns in the United States have greatly increased awareness of specific malignancies, such as breast and prostate. However, the hematologic malignancies have not had the same level of awareness, despite rising incidence rates for leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma from 2004 to 2015. This study sought to examine patients' and laypersons' internet searches for terms related to the three major hematologic malignancies. Methods: Google Trends (www.google.com/trends) was accessed to obtain the relative search engine traffic values for terms related to the three major blood cancers (leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma) from January 2004 to December 2015. These values are defined as search volume indices (SVIs) and are directly obtainable from Google Trends. For comparison, SVIs for the term "cancer" were also collected during the same time frame. Using standard Boolean operators, searches for "cancer" were operationalized as CANCER + CANCERS + MALIGNANCY + MALIGNANCIES + MALIGNANT, searches for "leukemia" as LEUKEMIA + LEUKEMIAS, searches for "lymphoma" as LYMPHOMA + LYMPHOMAS + "NON HODGKIN" + NON HODGKIN + "HODGKIN DISEASE" + "HODGKIN'S DISEASE", and searches for "myeloma" as MYELOMA + MYELOMAS. Trends in the respective SVIs were analyzed with Mann-Kendall trend tests and Sen's slope estimators in R (V3.3.1), similar to previously published Google Trends analyses. Results: Individual inspection of each search term revealed the average SVI for "cancer" was 76.4, for "leukemia" was 68.0, for "lymphoma" was 75.5, and for "myeloma" was 30.4 during the time frame 2004 to 2015. Simultaneous inspection across search terms revealed the SVIs for "cancer" far outweighed searches for "leukemia," "lymphoma," and "myeloma" combined (mean SVIs 76 vs. 4, 4, and 1 respectively). Mann-Kendall trend tests showed a statistically significant decrease in searches for "leukemia" (S = -6460.0, p < 0.001) and "lymphoma" (S = -6338, p < 0.001) over time. "Myeloma" searches (S = -1321, p = 0.02) and "cancer" searches (S = -2389.0, p < 0.005) also showed a statistically significant decrease. Sen's slope estimators showed the greatest decline for "leukemia" (Q = -0.18, 95% CI: -0.19 to -0.17) and "lymphoma" (Q = -0.21, 95% CI: -0.22 to -0.20) and lowest decline for "cancer" (Q = -0.05, 95% CI: -0.06 to -0.04) and "myeloma" (Q = -0.01, 95% CI: -0.02 to 0.00). Discussion: Searches for "leukemia" and "lymphoma" have sharply declined over the time period 2004 to 2015 in the United States. Searches for "myeloma" have remained stably low over time with marginal decrease. Overall, internet searches for the hematologic malignancies represent a very small fraction of total searches for "cancer." These data suggest a declining awareness for the major hematologic malignancies despite their rising incidences in the United States. Patient awareness may be increased with greater efforts toward disease-specific advocacy campaigns and public health endeavors. Figure 1 Individual Google Trends searches for terms (in clockwise order) "cancer," "leukemia," "lymphoma," and "myeloma" in the United States from 2004 to 2015. Figure 1. Individual Google Trends searches for terms (in clockwise order) "cancer," "leukemia," "lymphoma," and "myeloma" in the United States from 2004 to 2015. Figure 2 Simultaneous Google Trends search for "cancer," "leukemia," "lymphoma," and "myeloma" in the United States from 2004 to 2015. Figure 2. Simultaneous Google Trends search for "cancer," "leukemia," "lymphoma," and "myeloma" in the United States from 2004 to 2015. Disclosures Khorana: Halozyme: Consultancy, Honoraria; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Bayer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Sanofi: Consultancy, Honoraria; Leo: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria; Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding.

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