Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32535297›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases2020

Are online searches for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) related to media or epidemiology? A cross-sectional study.

Tomasz Szmuda, Shan Ali, Tarjei Vevang Hetzger, Philip Rosvall, Paweł Słoniewski

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
14citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Forecasting and Surveillance of COVID-19 Spread Using Google Trends: Literature Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Review
  4. Article
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  7. High variability in model performance of Google relative search volumes in spatially clustered COVID-19 areas of the USA.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2021
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Exploring the link between risk perception in internet media and the prevalence of COVID-19 in Europe.International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases · 2021
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Tomasz SzmudaNeurosurgery Department, Medical University of Gdansk, Dębinki 7, Gdansk, 80-952, Poland.
Shan AliScientific Circle of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Medical University of Gdansk, Dębinki 7, Gdansk, 80-952, Poland. Electronic address: shanali@gumed.edu.pl.
Tarjei Vevang HetzgerScientific Circle of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Medical University of Gdansk, Dębinki 7, Gdansk, 80-952, Poland.
Philip RosvallScientific Circle of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Medical University of Gdansk, Dębinki 7, Gdansk, 80-952, Poland.
Paweł SłoniewskiNeurosurgery Department, Medical University of Gdansk, Dębinki 7, Gdansk, 80-952, Poland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPrevious studies on the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have found strong correlations between online searches and the epidemiology of the disease.

aimOur aim was to determine if online searches for COVID-19 related to international media announcements or national epidemiology.

methodsSearches for "coronavirus" were made on Google Trends from December 31, 2019 to April 13, 2020 for 40 European countries. The online COVID-19 searches for all countries were correlated with each other. COVID-10 epidemiology (i.e. incidence and mortality) was correlated with the national online searches. Major announcements by the World Health Organization (WHO) were taken into consideration with peaks in online searches. Correlations were made using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient.

resultsOverall, the online searches for COVID-19 were not correlated with the actual incidence and mortality of COVID-19. The mean Spearman correlation for incidence was 0.20 (range -0.66 to 0.76) and for mortality was 0.35 (range -0.75 to 0.85). Online searches in Europe were all strongly synchronized with each other; a mean Spearman correlation of 0.93 (range 0.62 to 0.99).

conclusionsOnline searches for COVID-19 in Europe are not correlated with epidemiology but strongly correlated with international WHO announcements. Our study challenges previous Google Trends studies and emphasizes the role of the WHO in raising awareness of a new disease.

Indexed as

Mass MediaBetacoronavirusCoronavirus InfectionsCOVID-19Cross-Sectional StudiesEuropeHumansIncidencePandemicsPneumonia, ViralSARS-CoV-2Search EngineWorld Health OrganizationCOVID-19EuropeGoogle TrendsRisk communicationSurveillance

Identifiers

PMID32535297
PMCPMC7290205

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.