Measuring the impact of health policies using Internet search patterns: the case of abortion
Background Internet search patterns have emerged as a novel data source for monitoring infectious disease trends. We propose that these data can also be used more broadly to study the impact of health policies across different regions in a more efficient and timely manner. Methods As a test...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
| Published: |
Springer (Biomed Central Ltd.)
2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69544 |
| _version_ | 1811070962511118336 |
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| author | Reis, Ben I. Brownstein, John S. |
| author2 | Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology |
| author_facet | Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology Reis, Ben I. Brownstein, John S. |
| author_sort | Reis, Ben I. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Background
Internet search patterns have emerged as a novel data source for monitoring infectious disease trends. We propose that these data can also be used more broadly to study the impact of health policies across different regions in a more efficient and timely manner.
Methods
As a test use case, we studied the relationships between abortion-related search volume, local abortion rates, and local abortion policies available for study.
Results
Our initial integrative analysis found that, both in the US and internationally, the volume of Internet searches for abortion is inversely proportional to local abortion rates and directly proportional to local restrictions on abortion.
Conclusion
These findings are consistent with published evidence that local restrictions on abortion lead individuals to seek abortion services outside of their area. Further validation of these methods has the potential to produce a timely, complementary data source for studying the effects of health policies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:44:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/69544 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:44:26Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | Springer (Biomed Central Ltd.) |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/695442022-09-30T10:52:56Z Measuring the impact of health policies using Internet search patterns: the case of abortion Reis, Ben I. Brownstein, John S. Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology Reis, Ben I. Reis, Ben I. Brownstein, John S. Background Internet search patterns have emerged as a novel data source for monitoring infectious disease trends. We propose that these data can also be used more broadly to study the impact of health policies across different regions in a more efficient and timely manner. Methods As a test use case, we studied the relationships between abortion-related search volume, local abortion rates, and local abortion policies available for study. Results Our initial integrative analysis found that, both in the US and internationally, the volume of Internet searches for abortion is inversely proportional to local abortion rates and directly proportional to local restrictions on abortion. Conclusion These findings are consistent with published evidence that local restrictions on abortion lead individuals to seek abortion services outside of their area. Further validation of these methods has the potential to produce a timely, complementary data source for studying the effects of health policies. National Institutes of Health. (U.S.). National Library of Medicine (grant 1R01LM009879) National Institutes of Health. (U.S.). National Library of Medicine (grant G08LM009776) 2012-03-01T18:09:13Z 2012-03-01T18:09:13Z 2010-08 2010-03 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1471-2458 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69544 Reis, Ben Y, and John S Brownstein. “Measuring the Impact of Health Policies Using Internet Search Patterns: The Case of Abortion.” BMC Public Health 10.1 (2010): 514. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-10-514 BMC Public Health Creative Commons Attribution http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 application/pdf Springer (Biomed Central Ltd.) BioMed Central |
| spellingShingle | Reis, Ben I. Brownstein, John S. Measuring the impact of health policies using Internet search patterns: the case of abortion |
| title | Measuring the impact of health policies using Internet search patterns: the case of abortion |
| title_full | Measuring the impact of health policies using Internet search patterns: the case of abortion |
| title_fullStr | Measuring the impact of health policies using Internet search patterns: the case of abortion |
| title_full_unstemmed | Measuring the impact of health policies using Internet search patterns: the case of abortion |
| title_short | Measuring the impact of health policies using Internet search patterns: the case of abortion |
| title_sort | measuring the impact of health policies using internet search patterns the case of abortion |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/69544 |
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