Fluctuation of Public Interest in COVID-19 in the United States: Retrospective Analysis of Google Trends Search Data
Fluctuation of Public Interest in COVID-19 in the United States: Retrospective Analysis of Google Trends Search Data
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DOI：
10.2196/19969
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发表时间：
2020-07-01
影响因子：
8.5
通讯作者：
Countryman, Chase
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Husain, Iltifat;Briggs, Blake;Countryman, Chase
背景资料：在缺乏疫苗和既定治疗方法的情况下，非药物干预（NPI）是控制冠状病毒病（COVID-19）传播的基本工具。非营利机构需要公众利益才能成功。在美国，缺乏关于影响公众对COVID-19兴趣的因素的已发表研究。我们使用Google Trends分析了美国公众对COVID-19的兴趣程度，以及它与检测和其他国家的相关性。目的：本研究的目的是确定美国公众对COVID-19的兴趣如何随着时间的推移而变化，以及推动这种变化的关键因素，例如检测。美国公众对COVID-19的兴趣与在遏制和缓解策略方面更成功的国家进行了比较。方法：在这项回顾性研究中，使用Google趋势分析了美国境内与COVID-19相关的互联网搜索量，重点关注2019年12月31日至2020年3月24日之间的日期。结果：于二零二零年一月及二月，美国境内对COVID-19的搜索兴趣有限。2月的前21天利率下降。在后来发现2月份出现未被发现的社区传播的地理区域也出现了类似的下降。在2020年3月9日至3月12日期间，搜索兴趣迅速上升。搜索兴趣的增加与SARS-CoV-2阳性检测的增加呈正相关（6.3，95%CI-2.9至9.7; P
Background: In the absence of vaccines and established treatments, nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are fundamental tools to control coronavirus disease (COVID-19) transmission. NPIs require public interest to be successful. In the United States, there is a lack of published research on the factors that influence public interest in COVID-19. Using Google Trends, we examined the US level of public interest in COVID-19 and how it correlated to testing and with other countries.Objective: The aim of this study was to determine how public interest in COVID-19 in the United States changed over time and the key factors that drove this change, such as testing. US public interest in COVID-19 was compared to that in countries that have been more successful in their containment and mitigation strategies.Methods: In this retrospective study, Google Trends was used to analyze the volume of internet searches within the United States relating to COVID-19, focusing on dates between December 31, 2019, and March 24, 2020. The volume of internet searches related to COVID-19 was compared to that in other countries.Results: Throughout January and February 2020, there was limited search interest in COVID-19 within the United States. Interest declined for the first 21 days of February. A similar decline was seen in geographical regions that were later found to be experiencing undetected community transmission in February. Between March 9 and March 12, 2020, there was a rapid rise in search interest. This rise in search interest was positively correlated with the rise of positive tests for SARS-CoV-2 (6.3, 95% CI -2.9 to 9.7; P