scholarly journals Time Trends of the Public’s Attention Toward Suicide During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective, Longitudinal Time-Series Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dayle Burnett ◽  
Valsamma Eapen ◽  
Ping-I Lin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Kendall Test ◽  
The United States ◽  
School Closure ◽  
After School ◽  
Search Term ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Interest Levels

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health care systems around the world. Emerging evidence has suggested that substantially few patients seek help for suicidality at clinical settings during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has elicited concerns of an imminent mental health crisis as the course of the pandemic continues to unfold. Clarifying the relationship between the public’s attention to knowledge about suicide and the public’s attention to knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic may provide insight into developing prevention strategies for a putative surge of suicide in relation to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE The goal of this retrospective, longitudinal time-series study is to understand the relationship between temporal trends of interest for the search term “suicide” and those of COVID-19–related terms, such as “social distancing,” “school closure,” and “lockdown.” METHODS We used the Google Trends platform to collect data on daily interest levels for search terms related to suicide, several other mental health-related issues, and COVID-19 over the period between February 14, 2020 and May 13, 2020. A correlational analysis was performed to determine the association between the search term ‘‘suicide’’ and COVID-19–related search terms in 16 countries. The Mann-Kendall test was used to examine significant differences between interest levels for the search term “suicide” before and after school closure. RESULTS We found that interest levels for the search term “suicide” statistically significantly inversely correlated with interest levels for the search terms “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in nearly all countries between February 14, 2020 and May 13, 2020. Additionally, search interest for the term ‘‘suicide’’ significantly and negatively correlated with that of many COVID-19–related search terms, and search interest varied between countries. The Mann-Kendall test was used to examine significant differences between search interest levels for the term “suicide” before and after school closure. The Netherlands (<i>P</i>=.19), New Zealand (<i>P</i>=.003), the United Kingdom (<i>P</i>=.006), and the United States (<i>P</i>=.049) showed significant negative trends in interest levels for suicide in the 2-week period preceding school closures. In contrast, interest levels for suicide had a significant positive trend in Canada (<i>P</i>&lt;.001) and the United States (<i>P</i>=.002) after school closures. CONCLUSIONS The public’s attention to suicide might inversely correlate with the public’s attention to COVID-19–related issues. Additionally, several anticontagion policies, such as school closure, might have led to a turning point for mental health crises, because the attention to suicidality increased after restrictions were implemented. Our results suggest that an increased risk of suicidal ideation may ensue due to the ongoing anticontagion policies. Timely intervention strategies for suicides should therefore be an integral part of efforts to flatten the epidemic curve.

scholarly journals Time Trends of the Public’s Attention Toward Suicide During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Retrospective, Longitudinal Time-Series Study

10.2196/24694 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. e24694
Author(s):  
Dayle Burnett ◽  
Valsamma Eapen ◽  
Ping-I Lin
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Kendall Test ◽  
The United States ◽  
School Closure ◽  
After School ◽  
Search Term ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Interest Levels

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health care systems around the world. Emerging evidence has suggested that substantially few patients seek help for suicidality at clinical settings during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has elicited concerns of an imminent mental health crisis as the course of the pandemic continues to unfold. Clarifying the relationship between the public’s attention to knowledge about suicide and the public’s attention to knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic may provide insight into developing prevention strategies for a putative surge of suicide in relation to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective The goal of this retrospective, longitudinal time-series study is to understand the relationship between temporal trends of interest for the search term “suicide” and those of COVID-19–related terms, such as “social distancing,” “school closure,” and “lockdown.” Methods We used the Google Trends platform to collect data on daily interest levels for search terms related to suicide, several other mental health-related issues, and COVID-19 over the period between February 14, 2020 and May 13, 2020. A correlational analysis was performed to determine the association between the search term ‘‘suicide’’ and COVID-19–related search terms in 16 countries. The Mann-Kendall test was used to examine significant differences between interest levels for the search term “suicide” before and after school closure. Results We found that interest levels for the search term “suicide” statistically significantly inversely correlated with interest levels for the search terms “COVID-19” or “coronavirus” in nearly all countries between February 14, 2020 and May 13, 2020. Additionally, search interest for the term ‘‘suicide’’ significantly and negatively correlated with that of many COVID-19–related search terms, and search interest varied between countries. The Mann-Kendall test was used to examine significant differences between search interest levels for the term “suicide” before and after school closure. The Netherlands (P=.19), New Zealand (P=.003), the United Kingdom (P=.006), and the United States (P=.049) showed significant negative trends in interest levels for suicide in the 2-week period preceding school closures. In contrast, interest levels for suicide had a significant positive trend in Canada (P<.001) and the United States (P=.002) after school closures. Conclusions The public’s attention to suicide might inversely correlate with the public’s attention to COVID-19–related issues. Additionally, several anticontagion policies, such as school closure, might have led to a turning point for mental health crises, because the attention to suicidality increased after restrictions were implemented. Our results suggest that an increased risk of suicidal ideation may ensue due to the ongoing anticontagion policies. Timely intervention strategies for suicides should therefore be an integral part of efforts to flatten the epidemic curve.

The Impact of School Closures on Equity of Access in Chicago

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Lee ◽  
Christopher Lubienski
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
School Closure ◽  
After School ◽  
Poverty Level ◽  
School Closures ◽  
School Closing ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Closure Policy ◽  
The Impact

This study examines the impact of school closures on the sociospatial distribution of equitable access to schooling following the school closure policy pursued by the Chicago Public Schools in 2013. By examining access in terms of proximity between students and schools, the study estimates the changes in accessibility before and after school closings. The change in accessibility is compared with density maps constructed around a number of variables, including population aged 5 through 14 by race and ethnicity, proportion of families with children younger than 18 years old below the poverty level, and crime incidence during the previous 12 months. The overall results suggest that school closing may cause sociogeographic inequality in access to education.

Socio-Emotional and Academic Learning Before and After COVID-19 School Closures: Evidence from Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Bayley ◽  
Darge Wole Meshesha ◽  
Paul Ramchandani ◽  
Pauline Rose ◽  
Tassew Woldehanna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Skills ◽  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Academic Learning ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Children's Social Skills

This paper presents the findings of research undertaken in Ethiopia to examine the effects of COVID-19 school closures on children’s holistic learning, including both socio-emotional and academic learning. It draws on data collected in 2019 (prior to the pandemic) and 2021 (after schools reopened) to compare primary pupils’ learning before and after the school closures. In particular, the study adapts self-reporting scales that have been used in related contexts to measure Grade 3 and 6 children’s social skills, self-efficacy, emotional regulation and mental health and wellbeing, along with literacy and numeracy. Lesson observations were also undertaken to explore teachers’ behaviours to foster socio-emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom. The findings advance current knowledge in several respects. First, they quantify the decline in Ethiopian pupils’ social skills over the period of the school closures. Second, they identify a significant and strong relationship between learners’ social skills and their numeracy, even after taking other factors into account. Third, they reveal a significant association between children’s social skills and their mental health and wellbeing, highlighting the importance of interpersonal interactions to safeguard children’s holistic welfare. The paper concludes by proposing a model for understanding the relationship between learners’ SEL and academic outcomes, and with recommendations for education planning and practice, in Ethiopia and elsewhere.

scholarly journals Infodemiology of systemic lupus erythematous using Google Trends

Lupus ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 886-889 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Radin ◽  
S Sciascia
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Lupus Erythematosus ◽  
Kendall Test ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Data Monitoring ◽  
Search Term ◽  
Systemic Lupus ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Google Search

Objective People affected by chronic rheumatic conditions, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), frequently rely on the Internet and search engines to look for terms related to their disease and its possible causes, symptoms and treatments. ‘Infodemiology’ and ‘infoveillance’ are two recent terms created to describe a new developing approach for public health, based on Big Data monitoring and data mining. In this study, we aim to investigate trends of Internet research linked to SLE and symptoms associated with the disease, applying a Big Data monitoring approach. Methods We analysed the large amount of data generated by Google Trends, considering ‘lupus’, ‘relapse’ and ‘fatigue’ in a 10-year web-based research. Google Trends automatically normalized data for the overall number of searches, and presented them as relative search volumes, in order to compare variations of different search terms across regions and periods. The Menn–Kendall test was used to evaluate the overall seasonal trend of each search term and possible correlation between search terms. Results We observed a seasonality for Google search volumes for lupus-related terms. In the Northern hemisphere, relative search volumes for ‘lupus’ were correlated with ‘relapse’ (τ = 0.85; p = 0.019) and with fatigue (τ = 0.82; p = 0.003), whereas in the Southern hemisphere we observed a significant correlation between ‘fatigue’ and ‘relapse’ (τ = 0.85; p = 0.018). Similarly, a significant correlation between ‘fatigue’ and ‘relapse’ (τ = 0.70; p < 0.001) was seen also in the Northern hemisphere. Conclusion Despite the intrinsic limitations of this approach, Internet-acquired data might represent a real-time surveillance tool and an alert for healthcare systems in order to plan the most appropriate resources in specific moments with higher disease burden.

Mass School Closures and the Politics of Race, Value, and Disposability in Philadelphia

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-44
Author(s):  
Julia A. McWilliams ◽  
Erika M. Kitzmiller
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
School Choice ◽  
Individual Case ◽  
The United States ◽  
School Closure ◽  
Urban District ◽  
School Closures ◽  
School Communities ◽  
State And Local

Background With the expansion of charter school networks, population losses in urban district schools and stretched budgets have encouraged struggling districts to adopt closure-as-reform. School closings have received considerable attention in the media as a controversial reform, reconfiguring the educational landscapes of over 70 post-industrial cities like Chicago, Detroit, and New Orleans. However, in the last decade, few scholars have considered the project of examining closures—their process and their effects—empirically. Purpose In this article, we examine the rollout of 30 school closures in Philadelphia in 2012 and 2013 to explain how school closures have become yet another policy technology of Black community and school devaluation in the United States. Moving beyond educational studies that have focused on the outcomes of mass school closures like student achievement and cost savings, we argue that a thorough theorization of how race, violence, and community values relate to school closure as process could help to explain the ways in which contemporary educational policy reforms are creating new modes of communal disposability in cities’ poorest zip codes. Setting/Participants Data collection occurred in two comprehensive high schools in Philadelphia slated for closure in 2012 and 2013: Johnson High and Franklin High. Participants at both schools included students, teachers, parents, community members, and district officials. Research Design The authors spent several years in their respective schools recording observations of instructional practice, community meetings, and district events and interviewing key informants such as students, teachers, administrators, and district officials. The first author spent three years at Johnson High School, from September 2011 to June 2013. The second author spent five years at Franklin High School, from September 2008 to June 2013. She also spent hundreds of hours at the high school examining archival materials and interviewing students, teachers, and alumni about their experiences in the school and community. In addition to their individual case studies, the authors jointly transcribed and coded over two dozen community and district meetings’ video recordings during the 2012 and 2013 closures. In the aftermath of the school closures process, we used a comparative ethnographic method to compare and contrast the events that occurred at these two schools. Findings Suturing anthropologies of violence and education to frame the analysis, we explore moments of collision between policy discourses deployed by state and local officials that crafted closures as inevitable and threatened school communities’ articulations of the racialized implications of the closures. We further localize our analysis to demonstrate how two school communities—one majority Asian and another majority Black—with similar performances and characteristics met dramatically different fates. Given the lack of transparency in how decisions were made around which schools to close, the ways in which these communities read and responded to the closure threat offer a window into the ways in which race informed the valuation process across schools. Conclusions/Recommendations We conclude with a plea to state and federal policymakers to consider the long-term ramifications of school choice expansion and state disinvestment for the health and stability of traditional public schools. We encourage policymakers to move in a more reparative direction, prioritizing the needs of those “unchosen” by choice and imagining a system that might serve all students more equitably.

Predicting Public Interest in Nonsurgical Cosmetic Procedures Using Google Trends

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (11) ◽  
pp. 1253-1262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan D Tijerina ◽  
Shane D Morrison ◽  
Ian T Nolan ◽  
Matthew J Parham ◽  
Rahim Nazerali
Keyword(s):  
Hyaluronic Acid ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
The United States ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Search Term ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Fat Transfer ◽  
Laser Hair Removal ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Search Volume

Abstract Background Google Trends (GT) provides cost-free, customizable analyses of search traffic for specified terms entered into Google’s search engine. GT may inform plastic surgery marketing decisions and resource allocation. Objectives The aim of this study was to determine GT’s utility in tracking and predicting public interest in nonsurgical cosmetic procedures and to examine trends over time of public interest in nonsurgical procedures. Methods GT search volume for terms in 6 ASPS and ASAPS nonsurgical procedure categories (Botox injections, chemical peel, laser hair removal, laser skin resurfacing, microdermabrasion and soft tissue fillers [subcategories: collagen, fat, and hyaluronic acid]) were compared with ASPS and ASAPS case volumes for available dates between January 2004 and March 2019 with the use of univariate linear regression, taking P &lt; 0.01 as the cutoff for significance. Results Total search volume varied by search term within the United States and internationally. Significant positive correlations were demonstrated for 17 GT terms in all 6 ASPS and ASAPS categories: “Botox®,” “collagen injections,” “collagen lip injections” with both databases; and “chemical skin peel,” “skin peel,” “acne scar treatment,” “CO2 laser treatment,” “dermabrasion,” “collagen injections,” “collagen lip injections,” “fat transfer,” “hyaluronic acid fillers,” “hyaluronic acid injection,” “hyaluronic acid injections,” “Juvederm®,” and “fat transfer” with just 1 database. Many search terms were not significant, emphasizing the need for careful selection of search terms. Conclusions Our analysis further elaborates on recent characterization of GT as a powerful and intuitive data set for plastic surgeons, with the potential to accurately gauge global and national interest in topics and procedures related to nonsurgical cosmetic procedures.

scholarly journals Impacts of school closure due to COVID-19 on the mobility trend of Japanese citizens

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Hai Nam ◽  
Anh PN Nguyen ◽  
Bao-Tran Do Le ◽  
Abdelrahman Gamil Gad ◽  
Abdelrahman Sherif Mohamed Abdelnae Abdalla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Control Measure ◽  
Significant Decline ◽  
School Closure ◽  
After School ◽  
Median Percentage ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Before School ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Staying At Home

School closure was the only main control measure that Japan took into action from late February to late March in 2020. Accurate evaluation of how Japanese citizens responded to the impact of school closure remains a challenge. Data from the Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Report was used to analyze the mobility trend of Japanese citizens regarding six categories, including retail and recreation, grocery and pharmacy, parks, transit stations, workplace, and residential. The median percentage of mobility in all 47 prefectures of Japan was calculated during five periods of time, including one week before school closure, one week, two weeks, three weeks, and four weeks after school closure. There was a significant decline in the mobility trend of transit stations, grocery and pharmacy, parks, retail and recreation, and workplace at the moment after school closure compared to the prior period. Inversely, the mobility trend in staying at home remarkably increased following the implementation of school closure. Our study determined a significant change in the mobility trend of Japanese citizens before and after school closure. These data reflected the responsibility and the consciousness of Japanese citizens in mitigating COVID-19.

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 Direct-to-Consumer Chat-Based Remote Care Before and During the COVID-19 Outbreak

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Zeltzer ◽  
Alina Vodonos Zilberg ◽  
Yehuda Edo Paz ◽  
Roy Malka
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Prescription Drugs ◽  
Patient Characteristics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Case Volume ◽  
Fourfold Increase ◽  
Direct To Consumer ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Physician Recommendations

Objective. To compare the patient population, common complaints, and physician recommendations in direct-to-consumer chat-based consults, before and during the COVID-19 outbreak. Data sources. Data on patient characteristics, patient complaints, and physician recommendations from 36,864 chat-based telemedicine consults with physicians in an online-clinic by patients from across the United States between April 2019 and April 2020. Study Design. We perform a retrospective analysis comparing patient characteristics, visit characteristics, and physician recommendation before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. We examine patient age and gender, visit time, patient chief complains, and physician medical recommendation (including prescription drugs, reassurance, and referrals). Principal Findings. Before March 2020, most patients were female (75 percent) and 18-44 years old (89 percent). Common complaints such as abdominal pain, dysuria, or sore throat suggested minor acute conditions. Most cases (67 percent) were resolved remotely, mainly via prescriptions; a minority were referred. Since March 2020, the COVID-19 emergency has led to a sharp (fourfold) increase in case volume, including more males (from 25 to 29 percent), patients aged 45 and older (from 11 to 17 percent), and more cases involving mental health complaints and complaints related to COVID-19. Across all symptoms, significantly more cases (78 percent) have been resolved remotely. Conclusions. The COVID-19 outbreak in the United States has been associated with a sharp increase in the use of chat-based telemedicine services, including by new patient demographics, an increase in both COVID-19 and mental health complains, and an increase in remote case resolutions.

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