Dataset Information

Whiplash Syndrome Reloaded: Digital Echoes of Whiplash Syndrome in the European Internet Search Engine Context.

ABSTRACT: In many Western countries, after a motor vehicle collision, those involved seek health care for the assessment of injuries and for insurance documentation purposes. In contrast, in many less wealthy countries, there may be limited access to care and no insurance or compensation system.The purpose of this infodemiology study was to investigate the global pattern of evolving Internet usage in countries with and without insurance and the corresponding compensation systems for whiplash injury.We used the Internet search engine analytics via Google Trends to study the health information-seeking behavior concerning whiplash injury at national population levels in Europe.We found that the search for "whiplash" is strikingly and consistently often associated with the search for "compensation" in countries or cultures with a tort system. Frequent or traumatic painful injuries; diseases or disorders such as arthritis, headache, radius, and hip fracture; depressive disorders; and fibromyalgia were not associated similarly with searches on "compensation."In this study, we present evidence from the evolving viewpoint of naturalistic Internet search engine analytics that the expectations for receiving compensation may influence Internet search behavior in relation to whiplash injury.

SUBMITTER: Noll-Hussong M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5387115 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Whiplash Syndrome Reloaded: Digital Echoes of Whiplash Syndrome in the European Internet Search Engine Context.

Noll-Hussong Michael M

JMIR public health and surveillance 20170327 1

<h4>Background</h4>In many Western countries, after a motor vehicle collision, those involved seek health care for the assessment of injuries and for insurance documentation purposes. In contrast, in many less wealthy countries, there may be limited access to care and no insurance or compensation system.<h4>Objective</h4>The purpose of this infodemiology study was to investigate the global pattern of evolving Internet usage in countries with and without insurance and the corresponding compensati ...[more]

PMID: 28347974

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Project description:BackgroundTobacco smoking is an important public health issue and a core indicator of public health policy worldwide. However, global pandemics and natural disasters have prevented surveys from being conducted.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to predict smoking prevalence by prefecture and sex in Japan using Internet search trends.MethodsThis study used the infodemiology approach. The outcome variable was smoking prevalence by prefecture, obtained from national surveys. The predictor variables were the search volumes on Yahoo! Japan Search. We collected the search volumes for queries related to terms from the thesaurus of the Japanese medical article database Ichu-shi. Predictor variables were converted to per capita values and standardized as z scores. For smoking prevalence, the values for 2016 and 2019 were used, and for search volume, the values for the April 1 to March 31 fiscal year (FY) 1 year prior to the survey (ie, FY 2015 and FY 2018) were used. Partial correlation coefficients, adjusted for data year, were calculated between smoking prevalence and search volume, and a regression analysis using a generalized linear mixed model with random effects was conducted for each prefecture. Several models were tested, including a model that included all search queries, a variable reduction method, and one that excluded cigarette product names. The best model was selected with the Akaike information criterion corrected (AICC) for small sample size and the Bayesian information criterion (BIC). We compared the predicted and actual smoking prevalence in 2016 and 2019 based on the best model and predicted the smoking prevalence in 2022.ResultsThe partial correlation coefficients for men showed that 9 search queries had significant correlations with smoking prevalence, including cigarette (r=-0.417, P<.001), cigar in kanji (r=-0.412, P<.001), and cigar in katakana (r=-0.399, P<.001). For women, five search queries had significant correlations, including vape (r=0.335, P=.001), quitting smoking (r=0.288, P=.005), and cigar (r=0.286, P=.006). The models with all search queries were the best models for both AICC and BIC scores. Scatter plots of actual and estimated smoking prevalence in 2016 and 2019 confirmed a relatively high degree of agreement. The average estimated smoking prevalence in 2022 in the 47 prefectures for the total sample was 23.492% (95% CI 21.617%-25.367%), showing an increasing trend, with an average of 29.024% (95% CI 27.218%-30.830%) for men and 8.793% (95% CI 7.531%-10.054%) for women.ConclusionsThis study suggests that the search volume of tobacco-related queries in internet search engines can predict smoking prevalence by prefecture and sex in Japan. These findings will enable the development of low-cost, timely, and crisis-resistant health indicators that will enable the evaluation of health measures and contribute to improved public health.

Project description:BackgroundAlthough autism is often characterized in literature by the presence of repetitive behavior, in structured decision tasks, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been found to examine more options in a given time period than controls.ObjectiveWe aimed to examine whether this investigative tendency emerges in information searches conducted via the internet.MethodsIn total, 1746 search engine users stated that they had ASD in 2019. This group's naturally occurring responses following 1491 unique general queries and 78 image queries were compared to those of all other users of the search engine. The main dependent measure was scrolled distance, which denoted the extent to which additional results were scanned beyond the initial results presented on-screen. Additionally, we examined the number of clicks on search results as an indicator of the degree of search outcome exploitation and assessed whether there was a trade-off between increased search range and the time invested in viewing initial search results.ResultsAfter issuing general queries, individuals with self-stated ASD scanned more results than controls. The scrolled distance in the results page of general queries was 45% larger for the group of individuals with ASD (P<.001; d=0.45). The group of individuals with ASD also made the first scroll faster than the controls (P<.001; d=0.51). The differences in scrolled distance were larger for popular queries. No group differences in scrolled distance emerged for image queries, suggesting that visual load impeded the investigative behavior of individuals with ASD. No differences emerged in the number of clicks on search results.ConclusionsIndividuals who self-stated that they had ASD scrutinized more general search results and fewer image search results than the controls. Thus, our results at least partially support the notion that individuals with ASD exhibit investigative behaviors and suggest that textual searches are an important context for expressing such tendencies.

Dataset Information

Whiplash Syndrome Reloaded: Digital Echoes of Whiplash Syndrome in the European Internet Search Engine Context.

Publications

Whiplash Syndrome Reloaded: Digital Echoes of Whiplash Syndrome in the European Internet Search Engine Context.

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