ArticleJournal of global health2020
Using Google Trends to assess the impact of global public health days on online health information seeking behaviour in Central and South America.
Article in Journal of global health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed.
- Temporal and geographic patterns of breast cancer-related google search activity and its association with CDC-reported incidence in the United States (2005-2023).Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2026Article
- Evaluating ChatGPT's Effectiveness for Arabic Dry Mouth Patient Education.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Novel Internet Advertising Approach to Raise Public Awareness About Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease.JGH open : an open access journal of gastroenterology and hepatology · 2026Article
- Inequality and the marginal well-being costs of lockdowns: the case of Chile's local lockdowns design.International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
- Public interest in chronic kidney disease and dialysis: a 20-year data analysis.Renal failure · 2025Article
- Trends in public interest and vaccination coverage for Herpes Zoster.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- Exploring Public Interest in Atrial Fibrillation and Its Treatment Measures: A Google Trends Analysis.Cureus · 2025Article
- Public interest in online searching of asthma information: insights from a Google trends analysis.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2025Article
- ChatGPT and oral cancer: a study on informational reliability.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Population Size Estimation of Men Who Have Sex With Men in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Google Trends Analysis.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2025Article
- Impact of global public health days on online health-information-seeking behavior related to substance use: An analysis of five-year data.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2024Article
- Measles and Pertussis outbreaks in England and Wales: a time-series analysis.NIHR open research · 2024Article
- Impact of Sickle Cell Awareness Day on online health information seeking in Africa using Google Trends.Health promotion international · 2023Article
- Unlock digital health promotion in LMICs to benefit the youth.PLOS digital health · 2023Review
- The Internet's Interest in Autism Peaks in April: A Google Trends Analysis.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2023Article
- Online Health Information Seeking for Mpox in Endemic and Nonendemic Countries: Google Trends Study.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Determinants of public interest in emerging and re-emerging arboviral diseases in Europe: A spatio-temporal analysis of cross-sectional time series data.Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene · 2022Article
- Impact of the cervical cancer awareness months on public interest in Japan: A Google Trends analysis, 2012-2021.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Predictive Factors for Online Health Information-Seeking Behavior among Adults in the Russian Federation.Iranian journal of public health · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundPublic health awareness can help prevent illness and result in earlier intervention when it does occur. For this reason, health promotion and disease awareness campaigns have great potential to alleviate the global burden of disease. Global Public Health Days (GPHD) are frequently implemented with this intent, but research evaluating their effectiveness, especially in the developing world setting, is scant.
objectivesWe aimed to evaluate the impact of four GPHDs (World Cancer Day, World Diabetes Day, World Mental Health Day, World AIDS Day) on online health information seeking behaviour (OHISB) in five Central and South American (CSA) countries which differ in their stage of economic development and epidemiological transition (Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Colombia, Nicaragua).
methodsGoogle Trends data was used as a 'surrogate' of OHISB. This was measured on the 28 days leading up to the GPHD, on the date of the GPHD, and on the seven days following it. The Joinpoint regression programme was used to perform a time trend analysis on the Google Trends data. This allowed us to identify statistically significant time points of a change in trend, which reflect significant 'changes' to OHISB.
resultsGPHDs were inconsistently effective at influencing internet search query activity in the studied countries. In situations where an effect was significant, this impact was consistently short-term, with Relative Search Volume level returning to precampaign levels within 7 days of the GPHD.
conclusionsOur findings imply the need to revise GPHDs or create alternative health awareness campaigns, perhaps with a more long-term approach and tailored to the specific health needs of the CSA population. Developing effective preventive strategies is vital in helping combat the rising threat of NCDs in this region.
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