Leveraging web search data to explore public interest in psoriasis in Germany
Abstract Background Little is known about what people are interested in when they search the web for psoriasis. The monitoring of online search behaviour allows the assessment of interest in a disease on a more representative level by including people outside of medical settings. Objectives This stu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-09-01
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| Series: | JEADV Clinical Practice |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/jvc2.37 |
| _version_ | 1828734962474418176 |
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| author | Fabian Wallnöfer Mert E. Erbas Linda Tizek Barbara Schuster Hannah Wecker Tilo Biedermann Alexander Zink |
| author_facet | Fabian Wallnöfer Mert E. Erbas Linda Tizek Barbara Schuster Hannah Wecker Tilo Biedermann Alexander Zink |
| author_sort | Fabian Wallnöfer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Little is known about what people are interested in when they search the web for psoriasis. The monitoring of online search behaviour allows the assessment of interest in a disease on a more representative level by including people outside of medical settings. Objectives This study aims to reveal relevant aspects regarding psoriasis for people consulting the web. Methods Google Ads Keyword Planner was used to select and evaluate relevant German keywords for ‘psoriasis' in the study period from September 2016 to August 2020 on German territory. All keywords were qualitatively reviewed and descriptively analysed in 11 categories. One‐way analysis of variance, Welch test and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used to assess differences within Germany, annual search volumes and seasons. Results Overall, 11,170,740 German language Google searches on the topic of psoriasis were made. In the general category, the most commonly searched disease aspect was related to the possible contagiousness of psoriasis (n = 122,040). ‘Head’ (51.1%), followed by ‘nails’ (15.9%), ‘hands’ (8.8%), ‘feet’ (7.8%), and ‘genital/anal area’ (6.1%), was the most frequently searched for localization. Pustular forms of psoriasis were overrepresented in the search volume. Almost half of the search terms for therapy were represented by keywords related to alternative care and phytotherapy, while less than 1% related to biologics. Differences between the federal states for search volume on treatment options (p < 0.001) and between annual search volumes (p < 0.001) were found. Conclusions Queries on pustular forms and difficult‐to‐treat areas gained high online interest, which suggests higher disease impact or underdiagnosis. The high interest in alternative therapy options suggests possible therapy dissatisfaction, lack of patient information or lack of access to guideline‐conform therapy options. The possible infectiousness of psoriasis seems to remain an issue in the general population and should be addressed accordingly. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:58:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c98b6aaa5f1646bfa533888195b33922 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2768-6566 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:58:13Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JEADV Clinical Practice |
| spelling | doaj.art-c98b6aaa5f1646bfa533888195b339222022-12-22T03:13:08ZengWileyJEADV Clinical Practice2768-65662022-09-011325426310.1002/jvc2.37Leveraging web search data to explore public interest in psoriasis in GermanyFabian Wallnöfer0Mert E. Erbas1Linda Tizek2Barbara Schuster3Hannah Wecker4Tilo Biedermann5Alexander Zink6Department of Dermatology and Allergy, School of Medicine Technical University of Munich Munich GermanyDepartment of Dermatology and Allergy, School of Medicine Technical University of Munich Munich GermanyDepartment of Dermatology and Allergy, School of Medicine Technical University of Munich Munich GermanyDepartment of Dermatology and Allergy, School of Medicine Technical University of Munich Munich GermanyDepartment of Dermatology and Allergy, School of Medicine Technical University of Munich Munich GermanyDepartment of Dermatology and Allergy, School of Medicine Technical University of Munich Munich GermanyDepartment of Dermatology and Allergy, School of Medicine Technical University of Munich Munich GermanyAbstract Background Little is known about what people are interested in when they search the web for psoriasis. The monitoring of online search behaviour allows the assessment of interest in a disease on a more representative level by including people outside of medical settings. Objectives This study aims to reveal relevant aspects regarding psoriasis for people consulting the web. Methods Google Ads Keyword Planner was used to select and evaluate relevant German keywords for ‘psoriasis' in the study period from September 2016 to August 2020 on German territory. All keywords were qualitatively reviewed and descriptively analysed in 11 categories. One‐way analysis of variance, Welch test and Pearson's correlation coefficient were used to assess differences within Germany, annual search volumes and seasons. Results Overall, 11,170,740 German language Google searches on the topic of psoriasis were made. In the general category, the most commonly searched disease aspect was related to the possible contagiousness of psoriasis (n = 122,040). ‘Head’ (51.1%), followed by ‘nails’ (15.9%), ‘hands’ (8.8%), ‘feet’ (7.8%), and ‘genital/anal area’ (6.1%), was the most frequently searched for localization. Pustular forms of psoriasis were overrepresented in the search volume. Almost half of the search terms for therapy were represented by keywords related to alternative care and phytotherapy, while less than 1% related to biologics. Differences between the federal states for search volume on treatment options (p < 0.001) and between annual search volumes (p < 0.001) were found. Conclusions Queries on pustular forms and difficult‐to‐treat areas gained high online interest, which suggests higher disease impact or underdiagnosis. The high interest in alternative therapy options suggests possible therapy dissatisfaction, lack of patient information or lack of access to guideline‐conform therapy options. The possible infectiousness of psoriasis seems to remain an issue in the general population and should be addressed accordingly.https://doi.org/10.1002/jvc2.37disease impactonline health informationpsoriasisquality of liferetrospective studysearch analysis |
| spellingShingle | Fabian Wallnöfer Mert E. Erbas Linda Tizek Barbara Schuster Hannah Wecker Tilo Biedermann Alexander Zink Leveraging web search data to explore public interest in psoriasis in Germany JEADV Clinical Practice disease impact online health information psoriasis quality of life retrospective study search analysis |
| title | Leveraging web search data to explore public interest in psoriasis in Germany |
| title_full | Leveraging web search data to explore public interest in psoriasis in Germany |
| title_fullStr | Leveraging web search data to explore public interest in psoriasis in Germany |
| title_full_unstemmed | Leveraging web search data to explore public interest in psoriasis in Germany |
| title_short | Leveraging web search data to explore public interest in psoriasis in Germany |
| title_sort | leveraging web search data to explore public interest in psoriasis in germany |
| topic | disease impact online health information psoriasis quality of life retrospective study search analysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/jvc2.37 |
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