scholarly journals Monitoring HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis information seeking by combining digital and traditional data

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek C. Johnson ◽  
Alicia L. Nobles ◽  
Theodore L. Caputi ◽  
Michael Liu ◽  
Eric C. Leas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Testing ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Internet Search ◽  
Medicaid Coverage ◽  
Search Volume ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Under Performing ◽  
Exposure Prophylaxis

Abstract Background Public health is increasingly turning to non-traditional digital data to inform HIV prevention and control strategies. We demonstrate a parsimonious method using both traditional survey and internet search histories to provide new insights into HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) information seeking that can be easily extended to other settings. Method We modeled how US internet search volumes from 2019 for HIV testing and PrEP compared against expected search volumes for HIV testing and PrEP using state HIV prevalence and socioeconomic characteristics as predictors. States with search volumes outside the upper and lower bound confidence interval were labeled as either over or under performing. State performance was evaluated by (a) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designation as a hotspot for new HIV diagnoses (b) expanding Medicaid coverage. Results Ten states over-performed in models assessing information seeking for HIV testing, while eleven states under-performed. Thirteen states over-performed in models assessing internet searches for PrEP information, while thirteen states under-performed. States that expanded Medicaid coverage were more likely to over perform in PrEP models than states that did not expand Medicaid coverage. While states that were hotspots for new HIV diagnoses were more likely to over perform on HIV testing searches. Conclusion Our study derived a method of measuring HIV and PrEP information seeking that is comparable across states. Several states exhibited information seeking for PrEP and HIV testing that deviated from model assessments. Statewide search volume for PrEP information was affected by a state’s decision to expand Medicaid coverage. Our research provides health officials with an innovative way to monitor statewide interest in PrEP and HIV testing using a metric for information-seeking that is comparable across states.

scholarly journals Monitoring HIV Testing and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Information Seeking By Combining Digital and Traditional Data

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek Johnson ◽  
Alicia L. Nobles ◽  
Theodore L. Caputi ◽  
Michael Liu ◽  
Eric C. Leas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Testing ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Internet Search ◽  
Medicaid Coverage ◽  
Search Volume ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Under Performing ◽  
Exposure Prophylaxis

Abstract Background. Public health is increasingly turning to non-traditional digital data to inform HIV prevention and control strategies. We demonstrate a parsimonious method using both traditional survey and internet search histories to provide new insights into HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) information seeking that can be easily extended to other settings. Method. We modeled how US internet search volumes from 2019 for HIV testing and PrEP compared against expected search volumes for HIV testing and PrEP using state HIV prevalence and socioeconomic characteristics as predictors. States with search volumes outside the upper and lower bound confidence interval were labeled as either over or under performing. State performance was evaluated by (a) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designation as a hotspot for new HIV diagnoses (b) expanding Medicaid coverage. Results. Ten states over-performed in models assessing information seeking for HIV testing, while thirteen states under-performed. Fourteen states over-performed in models assessing internet searches for PrEP information, while 15 states under-performed. States that expanded Medicaid coverage were more likely to over perform in PrEP models than states that did not expand Medicaid coverage.Conclusion. Our study derived a method of measuring HIV and PrEP information seeking that is comparable across states. Several states exhibited information seeking for PrEP and HIV testing that deviated from model assessments. Statewide search volume for PrEP information was affected by a state’s decision to expand Medicaid coverage. Our research provides health officials with an innovative way to monitor statewide interest in PrEP and HIV testing using a metric for information-seeking that is comparable across states.

scholarly journals Seasonality Patterns of Internet Searches on Mental Health: Exploratory Infodemiology Study (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noam Soreni ◽  
Duncan H Cameron ◽  
David L Streiner ◽  
Karen Rowa ◽  
Randi E McCabe
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Service Planning ◽  
Seasonal Patterns ◽  
Internet Search ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Search Volume ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Internet Searches

BACKGROUND The study of seasonal patterns of public interest in psychiatric disorders has important theoretical and practical implications for service planning and delivery. The recent explosion of internet searches suggests that mining search databases yields unique information on public interest in mental health disorders, which is a significantly more affordable approach than population health studies. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate seasonal patterns of internet mental health queries in Ontario, Canada. METHODS Weekly data on health queries in Ontario from Google Trends were downloaded for a 5-year period (2012-2017) for the terms “schizophrenia,” “autism,” “bipolar,” “depression,” “anxiety,” “OCD” (obsessive-compulsive disorder), and “suicide.” Control terms were overall search results for the terms “health” and “how.” Time-series analyses using a continuous wavelet transform were performed to isolate seasonal components in the search volume for each term. RESULTS All mental health queries showed significant seasonal patterns with peak periodicity occurring over the winter months and troughs occurring during summer, except for “suicide.” The comparison term “health” also exhibited seasonal periodicity, while the term “how” did not, indicating that general information seeking may not follow a seasonal trend in the way that mental health information seeking does. CONCLUSIONS Seasonal patterns of internet search volume in a wide range of mental health terms were observed, with the exception of “suicide.” Our study demonstrates that monitoring internet search trends is an affordable, instantaneous, and naturalistic method to sample public interest in large populations and inform health policy planners.

scholarly journals Seasonality Patterns of Internet Searches on Mental Health: Exploratory Infodemiology Study

10.2196/12974 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. e12974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noam Soreni ◽  
Duncan H Cameron ◽  
David L Streiner ◽  
Karen Rowa ◽  
Randi E McCabe
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Service Planning ◽  
Seasonal Patterns ◽  
Internet Search ◽  
Compulsive Disorder ◽  
Search Volume ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Internet Searches

Background The study of seasonal patterns of public interest in psychiatric disorders has important theoretical and practical implications for service planning and delivery. The recent explosion of internet searches suggests that mining search databases yields unique information on public interest in mental health disorders, which is a significantly more affordable approach than population health studies. Objective This study aimed to investigate seasonal patterns of internet mental health queries in Ontario, Canada. Methods Weekly data on health queries in Ontario from Google Trends were downloaded for a 5-year period (2012-2017) for the terms “schizophrenia,” “autism,” “bipolar,” “depression,” “anxiety,” “OCD” (obsessive-compulsive disorder), and “suicide.” Control terms were overall search results for the terms “health” and “how.” Time-series analyses using a continuous wavelet transform were performed to isolate seasonal components in the search volume for each term. Results All mental health queries showed significant seasonal patterns with peak periodicity occurring over the winter months and troughs occurring during summer, except for “suicide.” The comparison term “health” also exhibited seasonal periodicity, while the term “how” did not, indicating that general information seeking may not follow a seasonal trend in the way that mental health information seeking does. Conclusions Seasonal patterns of internet search volume in a wide range of mental health terms were observed, with the exception of “suicide.” Our study demonstrates that monitoring internet search trends is an affordable, instantaneous, and naturalistic method to sample public interest in large populations and inform health policy planners.

scholarly journals A New Variant among Newcastle Disease Viruses Isolated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2018 and 2019

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 151
Author(s):  
Augustin T. Twabela ◽  
Lam Thanh Nguyen ◽  
Justin Masumu ◽  
Patrick Mpoyo ◽  
Serge Mpiana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Newcastle Disease ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Comprehensive Knowledge ◽  
Current Vaccine ◽  
New Variant ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Republic Of The Congo

Newcastle disease (ND) is a highly transmissible and devastating disease that affects poultry and wild birds worldwide. Comprehensive knowledge regarding the characteristics and epidemiological factors of the ND virus (NDV) is critical for the control and prevention of ND. Effective vaccinations can prevent and control the spread of the NDV in poultry populations. For decades, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reported the impacts of ND on commercial and traditional poultry farming systems. The reports were preliminary clinical observations, and few cases were confirmed in the laboratory. However, data on the phylogenetic, genetic, and virological characteristics of NDVs circulating in the DRC are not available. In this study, the whole-genome sequences of three NDV isolates obtained using the next-generation sequencing method revealed two isolates that were a new variant of NDV, and one isolate that was clustered in the subgenotype VII.2. All DRC isolates were velogenic and were antigenically closely related to the vaccine strains. Our findings reveal that despite the circulation of the new variant, ND can be controlled in the DRC using the current vaccine. However, epidemiological studies should be conducted to elucidate the endemicity of the disease so that better control strategies can be implemented.

scholarly journals Increase in searches for erectile dysfunction during winter: seasonal variation evidence from Google Trends in the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belén Mora Garijo ◽  
Jonathan E. Katz ◽  
Aubrey Greer ◽  
Mia Gonzalgo ◽  
Alejandro García López ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
United States ◽  
Erectile Dysfunction ◽  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
Kidney Stones ◽  
Seasonal Pattern ◽  
The United States ◽  
Google Trends ◽  
Internet Search ◽  
Search Volume

AbstractSeveral diseases associated with erectile dysfunction (ED), such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and coronary artery disease (CAD), are known to have seasonal variation, with increased incidence during winter months. However, no literature exists on whether this chronological-seasonal evolution is also present within ED symptomatology. We hypothesized ED would follow the seasonal pattern of its lifestyle-influenced comorbid conditions and exhibit increased incidence during winter months. In order to investigate the seasonal variation of ED in the United States between 2009 and 2019, Internet search query data were obtained using Google Trends. Normalized search volume was determined during the winter and summer seasons for ED, other diseases known to be significantly associated with ED (T2DM and CAD), kidney stones (positive control), and prostate cancer (negative control). There were significantly more internet search queries for ED during the winter than during the summer (p = 0.001). CAD and T2DM also had significantly increased search volume during winter months compared to summer months (p < 0.001 and p = 0.011, respectively). By contrast, searches for kidney stones were significantly increased in the summer than in the winter (p < 0.001). There was no significant seasonal variation in the relative search frequency for prostate cancer (p = 0.75). In conclusion, Google Trends internet search data across a ten-year period in the United States suggested a seasonal variation in ED, which implies an increase in ED during winter. This novel finding in ED epidemiology may help increase awareness of ED’s associated lifestyle risk factors, which may facilitate early medical evaluation and treatment for those at risk of both ED and cardiovascular disease.

Meningococcal Disease Prevention and Control Strategies for Practice-based Physicians

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 404-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Meningococcal Disease ◽  
Primary Care Physicians ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Invasive Meningococcal Disease ◽  
Appropriate Use ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Control And Prevention

Localized outbreaks of meningococcal disease in the United States and Canada continue to cause serious alarm within communities as a result of the fulminating pattern of the disease, high mortality rate, and high incidence among adolescents. The increasing number of outbreaks since 1991 has raised questions about the management and prevention of further cases during an outbreak. The purpose of this statement is to guide primary-care physicians in their role in infection control and prevention of both sporadic cases and outbreaks of invasive meningococcal disease. This statement provides information on the epidemiology of meningococcal disease, including definitions of sporadic, secondary, and coprimary cases, clusters of cases, and outbreaks. Data are presented on identification of cases, disease risk of contacts, and agents for chemoprophylaxis, and recommendations are given for: (1) risk assessment of contacts, (2) administration of chemoprophylaxis, (3) appropriate use of meningococcal vaccine, (4) appropriate use of the microbiology laboratory, (5) the necessity for timely and appropriate reporting of invasive meningococcal disease to local public health authorities, and (6) information on counseling and public education that may be helpful during an outbreak to minimize public anxiety. An additional section, "Information for Sharing," which uses a question-and-answer format and which may be helpful to parents and community and health care workers during an outbreak, is also provided.

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