Interest in COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean: an infodemiological study using Google Trends
Infodemiology has been widely used to assess epidemics. In light of the recent pandemic, we use Google Search data to explore online interest about COVID-19 and related topics in 20 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Data from Google Trends from December 12, 2019, to April 25, 2020, regar...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Cadernos de Saúde Pública |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-311X2021001005017&tlng=en |
| _version_ | 1818989005063061504 |
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| author | Carlos Jesús Aragón-Ayala Julissa Copa-Uscamayta Luis Herrera Frank Zela-Coila Cender Udai Quispe-Juli |
| author_facet | Carlos Jesús Aragón-Ayala Julissa Copa-Uscamayta Luis Herrera Frank Zela-Coila Cender Udai Quispe-Juli |
| author_sort | Carlos Jesús Aragón-Ayala |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Infodemiology has been widely used to assess epidemics. In light of the recent pandemic, we use Google Search data to explore online interest about COVID-19 and related topics in 20 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Data from Google Trends from December 12, 2019, to April 25, 2020, regarding COVID-19 and other related topics were retrieved and correlated with official data on COVID-19 cases and with national epidemiological indicators. The Latin American and Caribbean countries with the most interest for COVID-19 were Peru (100%) and Panama (98.39%). No correlation was found between this interest and national epidemiological indicators. The global and local response time were 20.2 ± 1.2 days and 16.7 ± 15 days, respectively. The duration of public attention was 64.8 ± 12.5 days. The most popular topics related to COVID-19 were: the country’s situation (100 ± 0) and coronavirus symptoms (36.82 ± 16.16). Most countries showed a strong or moderated (r = 0.72) significant correlation between searches related to COVID-19 and daily new cases. In addition, the highest significant lag correlation was found on day 13.35 ± 5.76 (r = 0.79). Interest shown by Latin American and Caribbean countries for COVID-19 was high. The degree of online interest in a country does not clearly reflect the magnitude of their epidemiological indicators. The response time and the lag correlation were greater than in European and Asian countries. Less interest was found for preventive measures. Strong correlation between searches for COVID-19 and daily new cases suggests a predictive utility. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T19:31:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3848233118514895b732d24bf1da3a87 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1678-4464 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T19:31:35Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cadernos de Saúde Pública |
| spelling | doaj.art-3848233118514895b732d24bf1da3a872022-12-21T19:28:46ZengEscola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo CruzCadernos de Saúde Pública1678-44642021-10-01371010.1590/0102-311x00270720Interest in COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean: an infodemiological study using Google TrendsCarlos Jesús Aragón-Ayalahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9536-2247Julissa Copa-Uscamaytahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2268-8577Luis Herrerahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7634-3016Frank Zela-Coilahttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2805-9162Cender Udai Quispe-Julihttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0633-8339Infodemiology has been widely used to assess epidemics. In light of the recent pandemic, we use Google Search data to explore online interest about COVID-19 and related topics in 20 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. Data from Google Trends from December 12, 2019, to April 25, 2020, regarding COVID-19 and other related topics were retrieved and correlated with official data on COVID-19 cases and with national epidemiological indicators. The Latin American and Caribbean countries with the most interest for COVID-19 were Peru (100%) and Panama (98.39%). No correlation was found between this interest and national epidemiological indicators. The global and local response time were 20.2 ± 1.2 days and 16.7 ± 15 days, respectively. The duration of public attention was 64.8 ± 12.5 days. The most popular topics related to COVID-19 were: the country’s situation (100 ± 0) and coronavirus symptoms (36.82 ± 16.16). Most countries showed a strong or moderated (r = 0.72) significant correlation between searches related to COVID-19 and daily new cases. In addition, the highest significant lag correlation was found on day 13.35 ± 5.76 (r = 0.79). Interest shown by Latin American and Caribbean countries for COVID-19 was high. The degree of online interest in a country does not clearly reflect the magnitude of their epidemiological indicators. The response time and the lag correlation were greater than in European and Asian countries. Less interest was found for preventive measures. Strong correlation between searches for COVID-19 and daily new cases suggests a predictive utility.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-311X2021001005017&tlng=enCoronavirus InfectionsEpidemiologyInternet |
| spellingShingle | Carlos Jesús Aragón-Ayala Julissa Copa-Uscamayta Luis Herrera Frank Zela-Coila Cender Udai Quispe-Juli Interest in COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean: an infodemiological study using Google Trends Cadernos de Saúde Pública Coronavirus Infections Epidemiology Internet |
| title | Interest in COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean: an infodemiological study using Google Trends |
| title_full | Interest in COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean: an infodemiological study using Google Trends |
| title_fullStr | Interest in COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean: an infodemiological study using Google Trends |
| title_full_unstemmed | Interest in COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean: an infodemiological study using Google Trends |
| title_short | Interest in COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean: an infodemiological study using Google Trends |
| title_sort | interest in covid 19 in latin america and the caribbean an infodemiological study using google trends |
| topic | Coronavirus Infections Epidemiology Internet |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-311X2021001005017&tlng=en |
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