Researchers Present Findings on Role of Google Search Early in COVID-19 Pandemic

Non-generic queries in the online tool Google Trends may yield better insight into health information-seeking behavior, according to a new study by researchers from the George Washington University (GW).

Google TrendsTM analyzes the popularity of top Google queries geographically and longitudinally. More recently it has been used as a surveillance and retrospective epidemiological tool to study the impact of COVID-19 around the world. However, studies focusing on the pandemic’s impact in the United States have been lacking, according to the researchers.

"What's interesting about Google Trends is that it is a free platform that allows researchers like me to assess information-seeking behavior from a big data perspective," said King John Pascual, a third-year MD student at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) and first author on the study. "Just like with any big-data platform, if you have the right research questions, it can be a powerful epidemiological tool."

The study, conducted by Pascual and his mentor Ali Pourmand, MD, MPH, professor of emergency medicine at SMHS, utilized Google Trends to assess the extent of the public’s perceived exposure to COVID-19 as it relates to disease prevalence during the early phase of the pandemic in the U.S. The team collected four weeks of search volume index (SVI) data from March 2020.

Out of the five queries analyzed, two that signal perceived exposure to the virus, "How do I get tested for coronavirus?" or "Do I have coronavirus?" had statistically significant differences in mean SVI between states with the highest and lowest numbers of COVID-19 cases. Generic queries such as "What is coronavirus?" or "How is coronavirus spread?" that do not necessarily reflected perceived exposure to the virus were not associated with the number of COVID-19 cases. The study findings imply how analyzing specific phrases, in lieu of those borne out by general interest, may yield more meaningful data about perceived exposure to a communicable disease on a population level.

"Early access to population health data is crucial and potentially lifesaving," said Pascual. "Digital tools such as Google Trends may help bridge the gap in knowledge and transparency."

The findings will be available 24/7 on demand during the Research Forum at the American College of Emergency Physicians annual conference, the world’s largest emergency medicine conference, Oct. 26-29. The abstract is also published in the supplement to the November 2020 issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine: els-jbs-prod-cdn.jbs.elsevierhealth.com/pb/assets/raw/Health%20Advance/journals/ymem/YMEM764Sfinalv2.pdf

Most Popular Now

AI Distinguishes Glioblastoma from Look-…

A Harvard Medical School–led research team has developed an AI tool that can reliably tell apart two look-alike cancers found in the brain but with different origins, behaviors, and treatments. The...

AI Body Composition Measurements can Pre…

Adiposity - or the accumulation of excess fat in the body - is a known driver of cardiometabolic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and kidney disease...

AI can Strengthen Pandemic Preparedness

How to identify the next dangerous virus before it spreads among people is the central question in a new Comment in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. In it, researchers discuss how...

'Future-Guided' AI Improves Se…

In the world around us, many things exist in the context of time: a bird’s path through the sky is understood as different positions over a period of time, and...

New AI Tool Scans Social Media for Hidde…

A new artificial intelligence tool can scan social media data to discover adverse events associated with consumer health products, according to a study published September 30th in the open-access journal...

Study Finds One-Year Change on CT Scans …

Researchers at National Jewish Health have shown that subtle increases in lung scarring, detected by an artificial intelligence-based tool on CT scans taken one year apart, are associated with disease...

New AI Tools Help Scientists Track How D…

Artificial intelligence (AI) can solve problems at remarkable speed, but it’s the people developing the algorithms who are truly driving discovery. At The University of Texas at Arlington, data scientists...

Yousif's Story with Sectra and The …

Embarking on healthcare technology career after leaving his home as a refugee during his teenage years, Yousif is passionate about making a difference. He reflects on an apprenticeship in which...

AI Tool Offers Deep Insight into the Imm…

Researchers explore the human immune system by looking at the active components, namely the various genes and cells involved. But there is a broad range of these, and observations necessarily...

New Antibiotic Targets IBD - and AI Pred…

Researchers at McMaster University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have made two scientific breakthroughs at once: they not only discovered a brand-new antibiotic that targets inflammatory bowel diseases...

Highland to Help Companies Seize 'N…

Health tech growth partner Highland has today revealed its new identity - reflecting a sharper focus as it helps health tech companies to find market opportunities, convince target audiences, and...