ArticleJMIR public health and surveillance2016
Disease Monitoring and Health Campaign Evaluation Using Google Search Activities for HIV and AIDS, Stroke, Colorectal Cancer, and Marijuana Use in Canada: A Retrospective Observational Study.
Article in JMIR public health and surveillance, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Systematic Review on Information Technology Approaches to Evaluate the Impact of Public Health Campaigns: Real Cases and Possible Directions.Frontiers in public health · 2021Pooled it
- The Application of Internet-Based Sources for Public Health Surveillance (Infoveillance): Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Pooled it
- Assessing the Methods, Tools, and Statistical Approaches in Google Trends Research: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2018Pooled it
- Framing health: how health communication theories and strategies shape NCD prevention content on Facebook Sri Lanka.BMC public health · 2026Article
- A content analysis of religion and HPV vaccine news coverage in Canada.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2025Article
- Associations Between Online Search Trends and Outpatient Visits for Common Medical Symptoms in the United States from 2004 to 2019: Time Series Ecological Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Influence of Breast Cancer Awareness Month on Public Interest of Breast Cancer in High-Income Countries Between 2012 and 2022: Google Trends Analysis.JMIR cancer · 2024Article
- Digital Epidemiological Approaches in HIV Research: a Scoping Methodological Review.Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2023Article
- Impact of the Food and Drug Administration enforcement policy on flavored e-cigarettes on the online popularity of disposable e-cigarettes: analyses of Google search query data.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Worldwide Evolution of Vaccinable and Nonvaccinable Viral Skin Infections: Google Trends Analysis.JMIR dermatology · 2022Article
- Searching for HIV and AIDS Health Information in South Africa, 2004-2019: Analysis of Google and Wikipedia Search Trends.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Article
- Impact of cancer awareness campaigns in Peru: a 5-year Google Trends analysis.Ecancermedicalscience · 2022Article
- Association of COVID-19 with lifestyle behaviours and socio-economic variables in Turkey: An analysis of Google Trends.The International journal of health planning and management · 2022Article
- Spatiotemporal evolution of online attention to vaccines since 2011: An empirical study in China.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Impact of a health campaign on Chinese public awareness of stroke: evidence from internet search data.BMJ open · 2021Article
- Epidemiologic evolution of common cutaneous infestations and arthropod bites: A Google Trends analysis.JAAD international · 2021Article
- Decreased public awareness of skin cancer during the coronavirus pandemic.International journal of dermatology · 2021Article
- Using Infodemiology Metrics to Assess Public Interest in Liver Transplantation: Google Trends Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Article
- Suitability of Google Trends™ for Digital Surveillance During Ongoing COVID-19 Epidemic: A Case Study from India.Disaster medicine and public health preparedness · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInfodemiology can offer practical and feasible health research applications through the practice of studying information available on the Web. Google Trends provides publicly accessible information regarding search behaviors in a population, which may be studied and used for health campaign evaluation and disease monitoring. Additional studies examining the use and effectiveness of Google Trends for these purposes remain warranted.
objectiveThe objective of our study was to explore the use of infodemiology in the context of health campaign evaluation and chronic disease monitoring. It was hypothesized that following a launch of a campaign, there would be an increase in information seeking behavior on the Web. Second, increasing and decreasing disease patterns in a population would be associated with search activity patterns. This study examined 4 different diseases: human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, stroke, colorectal cancer, and marijuana use.
methodsUsing Google Trends, relative search volume data were collected throughout the period of February 2004 to January 2015. Campaign information and disease statistics were obtained from governmental publications. Search activity trends were graphed and assessed with disease trends and the campaign interval. Pearson product correlation statistics and joinpoint methodology analyses were used to determine significance.
resultsDisease patterns and online activity across all 4 diseases were significantly correlated: HIV infection (r=.36, P<.001), stroke (r=.40, P<.001), colorectal cancer (r= -.41, P<.001), and substance use (r=.64, P<.001). Visual inspection and the joinpoint analysis showed significant correlations for the campaigns on colorectal cancer and marijuana use in stimulating search activity. No significant correlations were observed for the campaigns on stroke and HIV regarding search activity.
conclusionsThe use of infoveillance shows promise as an alternative and inexpensive solution to disease surveillance and health campaign evaluation. Further research is needed to understand Google Trends as a valid and reliable tool for health research.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.