Public interest and awareness regarding general health, sleep quality and mental wellbeing during the early COVID-19 pandemic period: An exploration using Google trends
The internet network continues to be a major source of health-related information. Our research provides insights into the online health-seeking behaviors of the general population, and evaluates the potential relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and public interest and awareness of general sl...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Sleep Epidemiology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667343621000172 |
| _version_ | 1811184587820236800 |
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| author | Patrick Lemoine David Ebert Yoshihiko Koga Claire Bertin |
| author_facet | Patrick Lemoine David Ebert Yoshihiko Koga Claire Bertin |
| author_sort | Patrick Lemoine |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The internet network continues to be a major source of health-related information. Our research provides insights into the online health-seeking behaviors of the general population, and evaluates the potential relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and public interest and awareness of general sleep health, mental health and wellbeing.Google Trends’ weekly relative search volumes (RSVs) were examined during 2020 for searches specifically related to COVID-19 symptoms, and for searches related to general health, sleep and wellbeing, in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France, Italy and Japan. To obtain insight into the association between the initiation of public restrictions and online search trends, we assessed a six-week period; the ‘early pandemic period’ (EPP) (01 March 2020 – 11 April 2020). To provide a meaningful pre-pandemic comparison, a similar period during 2019 (03 March – 13 April 2019) was compared for RSV and median difference analysis.The EPP was associated with increased online searches related to COVID-19 symptoms, as compared with those related to more general sleep health, mental health and wellbeing. The latter search terms frequently showed a decrease or minimal change in RSV during the EPP compared with the equivalent period in 2019. This finding illustrates the potential link between the COVID-19 pandemic and online search behavior and corroborates existing findings regarding internet searches during this period.Proactive communication by healthcare professionals during future pandemics and as an ongoing measure could help prevent public neglect of general health and wellbeing symptoms, and encourage reporting and early intervention. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T13:14:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7258da5d4edd4fd98bbc37001b55899a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2667-3436 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T13:14:49Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sleep Epidemiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-7258da5d4edd4fd98bbc37001b55899a2022-12-22T04:22:25ZengElsevierSleep Epidemiology2667-34362022-12-012100017Public interest and awareness regarding general health, sleep quality and mental wellbeing during the early COVID-19 pandemic period: An exploration using Google trendsPatrick Lemoine0David Ebert1Yoshihiko Koga2Claire Bertin3Clinique Lyon Lumière, Meyzieu, Lyon, France; Corresponding author.Department of Sport and Health Sciences, Psychology and Digital Mental Health Care, Technical University Munich, GermanyDepartment of Neuropsychiatry, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, JapanGlobal Medical Nutritionals, Consumer Healthcare, Sanofi, Paris, FranceThe internet network continues to be a major source of health-related information. Our research provides insights into the online health-seeking behaviors of the general population, and evaluates the potential relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and public interest and awareness of general sleep health, mental health and wellbeing.Google Trends’ weekly relative search volumes (RSVs) were examined during 2020 for searches specifically related to COVID-19 symptoms, and for searches related to general health, sleep and wellbeing, in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France, Italy and Japan. To obtain insight into the association between the initiation of public restrictions and online search trends, we assessed a six-week period; the ‘early pandemic period’ (EPP) (01 March 2020 – 11 April 2020). To provide a meaningful pre-pandemic comparison, a similar period during 2019 (03 March – 13 April 2019) was compared for RSV and median difference analysis.The EPP was associated with increased online searches related to COVID-19 symptoms, as compared with those related to more general sleep health, mental health and wellbeing. The latter search terms frequently showed a decrease or minimal change in RSV during the EPP compared with the equivalent period in 2019. This finding illustrates the potential link between the COVID-19 pandemic and online search behavior and corroborates existing findings regarding internet searches during this period.Proactive communication by healthcare professionals during future pandemics and as an ongoing measure could help prevent public neglect of general health and wellbeing symptoms, and encourage reporting and early intervention.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667343621000172Big dataOnline search behaviorMental healthSleep healthCovid-19 pandemicLockdown |
| spellingShingle | Patrick Lemoine David Ebert Yoshihiko Koga Claire Bertin Public interest and awareness regarding general health, sleep quality and mental wellbeing during the early COVID-19 pandemic period: An exploration using Google trends Sleep Epidemiology Big data Online search behavior Mental health Sleep health Covid-19 pandemic Lockdown |
| title | Public interest and awareness regarding general health, sleep quality and mental wellbeing during the early COVID-19 pandemic period: An exploration using Google trends |
| title_full | Public interest and awareness regarding general health, sleep quality and mental wellbeing during the early COVID-19 pandemic period: An exploration using Google trends |
| title_fullStr | Public interest and awareness regarding general health, sleep quality and mental wellbeing during the early COVID-19 pandemic period: An exploration using Google trends |
| title_full_unstemmed | Public interest and awareness regarding general health, sleep quality and mental wellbeing during the early COVID-19 pandemic period: An exploration using Google trends |
| title_short | Public interest and awareness regarding general health, sleep quality and mental wellbeing during the early COVID-19 pandemic period: An exploration using Google trends |
| title_sort | public interest and awareness regarding general health sleep quality and mental wellbeing during the early covid 19 pandemic period an exploration using google trends |
| topic | Big data Online search behavior Mental health Sleep health Covid-19 pandemic Lockdown |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667343621000172 |
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