1
|
Ilic A, Haardoerfer R, Michel G, Escoffery C, Mertens AC, Marchak JG. Understanding caregivers' decision to vaccinate childhood cancer survivors against COVID-19. Cancer Med 2023; 12:21354-21363. [PMID: 37937725 PMCID: PMC10726781 DOI: 10.1002/cam4.6675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Vaccination against COVID-19 is recommended for childhood cancer survivors (CCS). This study aimed to identify antecedents contributing to caregivers' decisions to vaccinate CCS aged 5-17 years against COVID-19 by applying the Theory of Planned Behavior. METHODS Participants in this cross-sectional study completed an online survey assessing caregiver attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intention to vaccinate CCS, CCS vaccination status, COVID-19 health literacy, and frequency of COVID-19 information-seeking. Surveys were completed between May and June 2022 following approval for the emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines among children aged ≥5 years in the U.S. Data were analyzed using unadjusted linear regressions and structural equation modeling. RESULTS Participants were caregivers (n = 160, 87.5% biological mothers, 75.6% white/non-Hispanic) of CCS (n = 160, 44.4% female, mean (M) = 12.5 years old, M = 8.0 years off treatment). 70.0% (n = 112) of caregivers and 53.8% (n = 86) of CCS received a COVID-19 vaccine. Over one-third (37.5%) of caregivers reported disagreement or indecision about future COVID-19 vaccination for the CCS. Caregivers' intention (β = 0.962; standard error [S.E.] = 0.028; p < 0.001) was highly related to CCS vaccination status. Attitudes (β = 0.568; S.E. = 0.078; p < 0.001) and subjective norms (β = 0.322; S.E. = 0.062; p < 0.001) were associated with intention. Higher frequency of COVID-19 information-seeking (β = 0.313; S.E. = 0.063; p < 0.001) and COVID-19 health literacy (β = 0.234; S.E. = 0.059; p < 0.001) had a positive indirect effect on intention through attitudes and subjective norms. CONCLUSIONS Caregivers' vaccination intentions for minor CCS are highly related to vaccination behavior and shaped by attitudes, subjective norms, COVID-19 health literacy, and frequency of COVID-19 information-seeking. Promoting tailored communication with caregivers of CCS and encouraging them to review reputable sources of information can address their vaccine hesitancy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anica Ilic
- Faculty of Health Sciences and MedicineUniversity of LucerneLucerneSwitzerland
- Department of PediatricsEmory University School of MedicineAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
- Aflac Cancer & Blood Disorders CenterChildren's Healthcare of AtlantaAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
| | | | - Gisela Michel
- Faculty of Health Sciences and MedicineUniversity of LucerneLucerneSwitzerland
| | - Cam Escoffery
- Rollins School of Public HealthEmory UniversityAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
| | - Ann C. Mertens
- Department of PediatricsEmory University School of MedicineAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
- Aflac Cancer & Blood Disorders CenterChildren's Healthcare of AtlantaAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
| | - Jordan Gilleland Marchak
- Department of PediatricsEmory University School of MedicineAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
- Aflac Cancer & Blood Disorders CenterChildren's Healthcare of AtlantaAtlantaGeorgiaUSA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Aboalshamat K. Quality and readability of web-based information on dental caries in Arabic: an infodemiological study. BMC Oral Health 2023; 23:797. [PMID: 37880640 PMCID: PMC10601140 DOI: 10.1186/s12903-023-03547-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Web-based information on dental caries in Arabic remains poorly understood. This study aimed to assess the quality and readability of web-based information about dental caries in Arabic. METHODS The first 100 websites in Arabic about dental caries were retrieved from Google and Bing using common terms. The websites were classified and evaluated for quality based on the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria, the DISCERN tool, and the presence of the Health on the Net Foundation Code of Conduct (HONcode). Readability was assessed using online readability indexes. RESULTS A total of 102 Arabic websites were included. The JAMA benchmark score was low (m = 0.36, SD = 0.56), with 67.7% failing to meet any of the JAMA criteria. The DISCERN total score mean was 37.68 (SD = 7.99), with a majority (67.65%) of moderate quality. None of the websites had the HONcode. Readability was generally good, with 52.94% of websites having a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) < 7, 91.18% having a Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) < 7, and 85.29% having a Flesch reading ease (FRE) score ≥ 80. There was a positive correlation between JAMA and DISCERN scores (p < 0.001). DISCERN scores were positively correlated with the number of words (p < 0.001) and sentences (p = 0.004) on the websites. However, JAMA or DISCERN scores were not correlated with FKGL, SMOG, or FRE scores (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The quality of Arabic dental caries websites was found to be low, despite their readability. Efforts are needed to introduce more reliable sources for discussing dental caries and treatment options on sites aimed at Arabic populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Khalid Aboalshamat
- Dental Public Health Division, Preventative Dentistry Department, College of Dentistry, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Chu AM, Chong ACY, Lai NHT, Tiwari A, So MKP. Enhancing the Predictive Power of Google Trends Data Through Network Analysis: Infodemiology Study of COVID-19. JMIR Public Health Surveill 2023; 9:e42446. [PMID: 37676701 PMCID: PMC10488898 DOI: 10.2196/42446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The COVID-19 outbreak has revealed a high demand for timely surveillance of pandemic developments. Google Trends (GT), which provides freely available search volume data, has been proven to be a reliable forecast and nowcast measure for public health issues. Previous studies have tended to use relative search volumes from GT directly to analyze associations and predict the progression of pandemic. However, GT's normalization of the search volumes data and data retrieval restrictions affect the data resolution in reflecting the actual search behaviors, thus limiting the potential for using GT data to predict disease outbreaks. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to introduce a merged algorithm that helps recover the resolution and accuracy of the search volume data extracted from GT over long observation periods. In addition, this study also aimed to demonstrate the extended application of merged search volumes (MSVs) in combination of network analysis, via tracking the COVID-19 pandemic risk. METHODS We collected relative search volumes from GT and transformed them into MSVs using our proposed merged algorithm. The MSVs of the selected coronavirus-related keywords were compiled using the rolling window method. The correlations between the MSVs were calculated to form a dynamic network. The network statistics, including network density and the global clustering coefficients between the MSVs, were also calculated. RESULTS Our research findings suggested that although GT restricts the search data retrieval into weekly data points over a long period, our proposed approach could recover the daily search volume over the same investigation period to facilitate subsequent research analyses. In addition, the dynamic time warping diagrams show that the dynamic networks were capable of predicting the COVID-19 pandemic trends, in terms of the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases and severity risk scores. CONCLUSIONS The innovative method for handling GT search data and the application of MSVs and network analysis to broaden the potential for GT data are useful for predicting the pandemic risk. Further investigation of the GT dynamic network can focus on noncommunicable diseases, health-related behaviors, and misinformation on the internet.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amanda My Chu
- Department of Social Sciences and Policy Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Andy C Y Chong
- School of Nursing, Tung Wah College, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Nick H T Lai
- Department of Information Systems, Business Statistics and Operations Management, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Agnes Tiwari
- School of Nursing, Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - Mike K P So
- Department of Information Systems, Business Statistics and Operations Management, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Wang SM, Kim SH, Choi WS, Lim HK, Woo YS, Pae CU, Bahk WM. The Impact of COVID-19 on Psychiatric Health in the Korean Population. CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE : THE OFFICIAL SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN COLLEGE OF NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY 2023; 21:410-418. [PMID: 37424410 PMCID: PMC10335912 DOI: 10.9758/cpn.23.1083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2023] [Revised: 05/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has multiple negative impacts on the psychiatric health of both those previously infected and not infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Moreover, the negative impacts of COVID-19 are closely associated with geographical region, culture, medical system, and ethnic background. We summarized the evidence of the impact of COVID-19 on the psychiatric health of the Korean population. This narrative review included thirteen research articles, which investigated the impact of COVID-19 on the psychiatric health of Koreans. COVID-19 survivors were reported to have a 2.4 times greater risk of developing psychiatric disorders compared to members of a control group, and anxiety and stress-related disorders were the most common newly diagnosed psychiatric illnesses. Studies also reported that COVID-19 survivors had a 3.33-fold higher prevalence of insomnia, a 2.72-fold higher prevalence of mild cognitive impairment, and a 3.09-fold higher prevalence of dementia compared to the control group. In addition, more than four studies have highlighted that the medical staff members, including nurses and medical students, exhibit a greater negative psychiatric impact of COVID-19. However, none of the articles investigated the biological pathophysiology or mechanism linking COVID-19 and the risk of diverse psychiatric disorders. Moreover, none of the studies were actual prospective studies. Thus, longitudinal studies are needed to more clearly elucidate the effect of COVID-19 on the psychiatric health of the Korean population. Lastly, studies focusing on preventing and treating COVID-19-associated psychiatric problems are needed to provide a benefit in real clinical settings.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sheng-Min Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
| | - Sung-Hwan Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
| | - Won-Seok Choi
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
| | - Hyun Kook Lim
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
| | - Young Sup Woo
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
| | - Chi-Un Pae
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Bucheon St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Bucheon, Korea
| | - Won-Myong Bahk
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
- Department of Psychiatry, Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Kerr JR, Schneider CR, Freeman ALJ, Marteau T, van der Linden S. Transparent communication of evidence does not undermine public trust in evidence. PNAS NEXUS 2022; 1:pgac280. [PMID: 36712327 PMCID: PMC9802351 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Does clear and transparent communication of risks, benefits, and uncertainties increase or undermine public trust in scientific information that people use to guide their decision-making? We examined the impact of reframing messages written in traditional persuasive style to align instead with recent "evidence communication" principles, aiming to inform decision-making: communicating a balance of risks and benefits, disclosing uncertainties and evidence quality, and prebunking misperceptions. In two pre-registered experiments, UK participants read either a persuasive message or a balanced and informative message adhering to evidence communication recommendations about COVID-19 vaccines (Study 1) or nuclear power plants (Study 2). We find that balanced messages are either perceived as trustworthy as persuasive messages (Study 1), or more so (Study 2). However, we note a moderating role of prior beliefs such that balanced messages were consistently perceived as more trustworthy among those with negative or neutral prior beliefs about the message content. We furthermore note that participants who had read the persuasive message on nuclear power plants voiced significantly stronger support for nuclear power than those who had read the balanced message, despite rating the information as less trustworthy. There was no difference in vaccination intentions between groups reading the different vaccine messages.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- John R Kerr
- Department of Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3EB Cambridge, UK
- Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, CB3 0WA Cambridge, UK
| | - Claudia R Schneider
- Department of Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3EB Cambridge, UK
- Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, CB3 0WA Cambridge, UK
| | - Alexandra L J Freeman
- Department of Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, CB2 3EB Cambridge, UK
| | - Theresa Marteau
- Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Worts Causeway, CB1 8RN Cambridge, UK
| | - Sander van der Linden
- Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, CB3 0WA Cambridge, UK
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Niu Q, Liu J, Zhao Z, Onishi M, Kawaguchi A, Bandara A, Harada K, Aoyama T, Nagai-Tanima M. Explanation of hand, foot, and mouth disease cases in Japan using Google Trends before and during the COVID-19: infodemiology study. BMC Infect Dis 2022; 22:806. [PMID: 36309663 PMCID: PMC9617033 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-022-07790-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affects common diseases, but its impact on hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is unclear. Google Trends data is beneficial for approximate real-time statistics and because of ease in access, is expected to be used for infection explanation from an information-seeking behavior perspective. We aimed to explain HFMD cases before and during COVID-19 using Google Trends. Methods HFMD cases were obtained from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, and Google search data from 2009 to 2021 in Japan were downloaded from Google Trends. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated between HFMD cases and the search topic “HFMD” from 2009 to 2021. Japanese tweets containing “HFMD” were retrieved to select search terms for further analysis. Search terms with counts larger than 1000 and belonging to ranges of infection sources, susceptible sites, susceptible populations, symptoms, treatment, preventive measures, and identified diseases were retained. Cross-correlation analyses were conducted to detect lag changes between HFMD cases and search terms before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Multiple linear regressions with backward elimination processing were used to identify the most significant terms for HFMD explanation. Results HFMD cases and Google search volume peaked around July in most years, excluding 2020 and 2021. The search topic “HFMD” presented strong correlations with HFMD cases, except in 2020 when the COVID-19 outbreak occurred. In addition, the differences in lags for 73 (72.3%) search terms were negative, which might indicate increasing public awareness of HFMD infections during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of multiple linear regression demonstrated that significant search terms contained the same meanings but expanded informative search content during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions The significant terms for the explanation of HFMD cases before and during COVID-19 were different. Awareness of HFMD infections in Japan may have improved during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continuous monitoring is important to promote public health and prevent resurgence. The public interest reflected in information-seeking behavior can be helpful for public health surveillance. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12879-022-07790-9.
Collapse
|
7
|
Kłak A, Furmańczyk K, Nowicka PM, Mańczak M, Barańska A, Religioni U, Siekierska A, Ambroziak M, Chłopek M. The Relationship between Searches for COVID-19 Vaccines and Dynamics of Vaccinated People in Poland: An Infodemiological Study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:13275. [PMID: 36293855 PMCID: PMC9603580 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192013275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Google Trends has turned out to be an appropriate tool for evaluating correlations and prognostic modelling regarding infectious diseases. The possibility of selecting a vaccine against COVID-19 has increased social interest in particular vaccines. The objective of this study was to show dependencies between the frequency of searches for COVID-19 vaccinations and the number of vaccinated people in Poland, along with epidemiological data. METHODS Data were collected regarding Google searches for COVID-19 vaccines, the number of people in Poland vaccinated against COVID-19, the number of new cases, and the number of deaths due to COVID-19. Data were filtered from 27 December 2020 to 1 September 2021. RESULTS The number of new vaccinations smoothed per million correlated most strongly with searches for the word 'Pfizer' in Google Trends (Kendall's tau = 0.46, p < 0.001). The number of new deaths correlated most strongly with the search phrase 'AstraZeneca' (Kendall's tau = 0.46, p < 0.001). The number of new cases per million correlated most strongly with searches for 'AstraZeneca' (Kendall's tau = 0.49, p < 0.001). The maximum daily number of searches ranged between 110 and 130. A significant interest in COVID-19 vaccines was observed from February to June 2021, i.e., in the period of a considerable increase in the number of new cases and new deaths due to COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS A significant increase in interest in COVID-19 vaccines was observed from February to June 2021, i.e., in the period of gradually extended access to vaccinations, as well as a considerable increase in the number of new cases and new deaths due to COVID-19. The use of Google Trends with relevant keywords and a comparison with the course of the COVID-19 pandemic facilitates evaluation of the relationship between the frequency and types of searches for COVID-19 vaccines and epidemiological data.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Kłak
- Department of Environmental Hazards Prevention, Allergology and Immunology, Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha 1a Street, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Konrad Furmańczyk
- Department of Environmental Hazards Prevention, Allergology and Immunology, Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha 1a Street, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
- Institute of Information Technology, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Paulina Maria Nowicka
- Department of Environmental Hazards Prevention, Allergology and Immunology, Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha 1a Street, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Małgorzata Mańczak
- Department of Gerontology, Public Health and Didactics, National Institute of Geriatrics, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, Spartanska 1 Street, 02-637 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Agnieszka Barańska
- Department of Medical Informatics and Statistics with e-Health Lab, Medical University of Lublin, K. Jaczewskiego 5 Street, 20-059 Lublin, Poland
| | - Urszula Religioni
- Collegium of Business Administration, Warsaw School of Economics, 02-513 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Anna Siekierska
- Department of Public Health, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sobieskiego 9 Street, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Martyna Ambroziak
- Graduate of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 61 Street, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Magdalena Chłopek
- Graduate of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury 61 Street, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Hu F, Qiu L, Xia W, Liu CF, Xi X, Zhao S, Yu J, Wei S, Hu X, Su N, Hu T, Zhou H, Jin Z. Spatiotemporal evolution of online attention to vaccines since 2011: An empirical study in China. Front Public Health 2022; 10:949482. [PMID: 35958849 PMCID: PMC9360794 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.949482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Since the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Chinese government has taken a number of measures to effectively control the pandemic. By the end of 2021, China achieved a full vaccination rate higher than 85%. The Chinese Plan provides an important model for the global fight against COVID-19. Internet search reflects the public's attention toward and potential demand for a particular thing. Research on the spatiotemporal characteristics of online attention to vaccines can determine the spatiotemporal distribution of vaccine demand in China and provides a basis for global public health policy making. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal characteristics of online attention to vaccines and their influencing factors in 31 provinces/municipalities in mainland China with Baidu Index as the data source by using geographic concentration index, coefficient of variation, GeoDetector, and other methods. The following findings are presented. First, online attention to vaccines showed an overall upward trend in China since 2011, especially after 2016. Significant seasonal differences and an unbalanced monthly distribution were observed. Second, there was an obvious geographical imbalance in online attention to vaccines among the provinces/municipalities, generally exhibiting a spatial pattern of “high in the east and low in the west.” Low aggregation and obvious spatial dispersion among the provinces/municipalities were also observed. The geographic distribution of hot and cold spots of online attention to vaccines has clear boundaries. The hot spots are mainly distributed in the central-eastern provinces and the cold spots are in the western provinces. Third, the spatiotemporal differences in online attention to vaccines are the combined result of socioeconomic level, socio-demographic characteristics, and disease control level.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Feng Hu
- Global Value Chain Research Center, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Liping Qiu
- Global Value Chain Research Center, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wei Xia
- Institute of International Business and Economics Innovation and Governance, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Shanghai, China
| | - Chi-Fang Liu
- Department of Business Administration, Cheng Shiu University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Xun Xi
- School of Management, Shandong Technology and Business University, Yantai, China
| | - Shuang Zhao
- Business School, Hohai University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jiaao Yu
- London College of Communication, University of the Arts London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Shaobin Wei
- Institute of Spatial Planning & Design, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiao Hu
- Cash Crop Workstation, Shangcheng Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shangcheng, China
| | - Ning Su
- School of MBA, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Tianyu Hu
- School of Information Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Haiyan Zhou
- Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Change Management, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Shanghai, China
- *Correspondence: Haiyan Zhou
| | - Zhuang Jin
- Baotou Teachers' College, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou, China
- Zhuang Jin
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Deiner MS, Kaur G, McLeod SD, Schallhorn JM, Chodosh J, Hwang DH, Lietman TM, Porco TC. A Google Trends Approach to Identify Distinct Diurnal and Day-of-Week Web-Based Search Patterns Related to Conjunctivitis and Other Common Eye Conditions: Infodemiology Study. J Med Internet Res 2022; 24:e27310. [PMID: 35537041 PMCID: PMC9297131 DOI: 10.2196/27310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Revised: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Studies suggest diurnal patterns of occurrence of some eye conditions. Leveraging new information sources such as web-based search data to learn more about such patterns could improve the understanding of patients’ eye-related conditions and well-being, better inform timing of clinical and remote eye care, and improve precision when targeting web-based public health campaigns toward underserved populations. Objective To investigate our hypothesis that the public is likely to consistently search about different ophthalmologic conditions at different hours of the day or days of week, we conducted an observational study using search data for terms related to ophthalmologic conditions such as conjunctivitis. We assessed whether search volumes reflected diurnal or day-of-week patterns and if those patterns were distinct from each other. Methods We designed a study to analyze and compare hourly search data for eye-related and control search terms, using time series regression models with trend and periodicity terms to remove outliers and then estimate diurnal effects. We planned a Google Trends setting, extracting data from 10 US states for the entire year of 2018. The exposure was internet search, and the participants were populations who searched through Google’s search engine using our chosen study terms. Our main outcome measures included cyclical hourly and day-of-week web-based search patterns. For statistical analyses, we considered P<.001 to be statistically significant. Results Distinct diurnal (P<.001 for all search terms) and day-of-week search patterns for eye-related terms were observed but with differing peak time periods and cyclic strengths. Some diurnal patterns represented those reported from prior clinical studies. Of the eye-related terms, “pink eye” showed the largest diurnal amplitude-to-mean ratios. Stronger signal was restricted to and peaked in mornings, and amplitude was higher on weekdays. By contrast, “dry eyes” had a higher amplitude diurnal pattern on weekends, with stronger signal occurring over a broader evening-to-morning period and peaking in early morning. Conclusions The frequency of web-based searches for various eye conditions can show cyclic patterns according to time of the day or week. Further studies to understand the reasons for these variations may help supplement the current clinical understanding of ophthalmologic symptom presentation and improve the timeliness of patient messaging and care interventions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael S Deiner
- Francis I Proctor Foundation, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.,Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Gurbani Kaur
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.,School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Stephen D McLeod
- Francis I Proctor Foundation, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.,Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Julie M Schallhorn
- Francis I Proctor Foundation, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.,Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - James Chodosh
- Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.,Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Daniel H Hwang
- Stanford University, San Mateo, CA, United States.,The Nueva School, San Mateo, CA, United States
| | - Thomas M Lietman
- Francis I Proctor Foundation, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.,Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.,Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.,Global Health Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Travis C Porco
- Francis I Proctor Foundation, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.,Department of Ophthalmology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.,Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.,Global Health Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Ferawati K, Liew K, Aramaki E, Wakamiya S. Monitoring Mentions of COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects from Japanese and Indonesian Twitter: Infodemiological Study (Preprint). JMIR INFODEMIOLOGY 2022; 2:e39504. [PMID: 36277140 PMCID: PMC9578292 DOI: 10.2196/39504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Background The year 2021 was marked by vaccinations against COVID-19, which spurred wider discussion among the general population, with some in favor and some against vaccination. Twitter, a popular social media platform, was instrumental in providing information about the COVID-19 vaccine and has been effective in observing public reactions. We focused on tweets from Japan and Indonesia, 2 countries with a large Twitter-using population, where concerns about side effects were consistently stated as a strong reason for vaccine hesitancy. Objective This study aimed to investigate how Twitter was used to report vaccine-related side effects and to compare the mentions of these side effects from 2 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine types developed by Pfizer and Moderna, in Japan and Indonesia. Methods We obtained tweet data from Twitter using Japanese and Indonesian keywords related to COVID-19 vaccines and their side effects from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021. We then removed users with a high frequency of tweets and merged the tweets from multiple users as a single sentence to focus on user-level analysis, resulting in a total of 214,165 users (Japan) and 12,289 users (Indonesia). Then, we filtered the data to select tweets mentioning Pfizer or Moderna only and removed tweets mentioning both. We compared the side effect counts to the public reports released by Pfizer and Moderna. Afterward, logistic regression models were used to compare the side effects for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for each country. Results We observed some differences in the ratio of side effects between the public reports and tweets. Specifically, fever was mentioned much more frequently in tweets than would be expected based on the public reports. We also observed differences in side effects reported between Pfizer and Moderna vaccines from Japan and Indonesia, with more side effects reported for the Pfizer vaccine in Japanese tweets and more side effects with the Moderna vaccine reported in Indonesian tweets. Conclusions We note the possible consequences of vaccine side effect surveillance on Twitter and information dissemination, in that fever appears to be over-represented. This could be due to fever possibly having a higher severity or measurability, and further implications are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kiki Ferawati
- Graduate School of Science and Technology Nara Institute of Science and Technology Ikoma Japan
| | - Kongmeng Liew
- Graduate School of Science and Technology Nara Institute of Science and Technology Ikoma Japan
| | - Eiji Aramaki
- Graduate School of Science and Technology Nara Institute of Science and Technology Ikoma Japan
| | - Shoko Wakamiya
- Graduate School of Science and Technology Nara Institute of Science and Technology Ikoma Japan
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Acceptance and Factors Influencing Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccine in a Romanian Population. J Pers Med 2022; 12:jpm12030452. [PMID: 35330452 PMCID: PMC8955399 DOI: 10.3390/jpm12030452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2022] [Revised: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
COVID-19 vaccination has been recognized as one of the most effective ways to overcome the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. However, the success of this effort relies on national vaccination programmes. In May 2021, we surveyed 1552 people from Romania to determine acceptance rates and factors influencing acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine. Of these, 39.2% of participants reported that they were vaccinated and 25.6% desired vaccination; nonetheless, 29.5% expressed opposition to vaccination. Concerning vaccination refusal, the top justification given by respondents is that the vaccine is insufficiently safe and there is a risk of serious side effects (84.4%). A higher rate of vaccination refusal was observed among female gender, younger age, and lower educational level. Refusal was also associated with unemployment, being in a relationship, and having a decrease in income during the pandemic. People who are constantly informed by specialized medical staff have a statistically significant higher vaccination rate, while people who choose to get information from friends, family, and co-workers have the strongest intention of avoiding the vaccine. Current levels of vaccine are insufficient to achieve herd immunity of 67%. It is mandatory to understand the aspects that define and establish confidence and to craft nationwide interventions appropriately.
Collapse
|
12
|
Okunoye B, Ning S, Jemielniak D. Searching for HIV and AIDS Health Information in South Africa, 2004-2019: Analysis of Google and Wikipedia Search Trends. JMIR Form Res 2022; 6:e29819. [PMID: 35275080 PMCID: PMC8956998 DOI: 10.2196/29819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 05/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background AIDS, caused by HIV, is a leading cause of mortality in Africa. HIV/AIDS is among the greatest public health challenges confronting health authorities, with South Africa having the greatest prevalence of the disease in the world. There is little research into how Africans meet their health information needs on HIV/AIDS online, and this research gap impacts programming and educational responses to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Objective This paper reports on how, in general, interest in the search terms “HIV” and “AIDS” mirrors the increase in people living with HIV and the decline in AIDS cases in South Africa. Methods Data on search trends for HIV and AIDS for South Africa were found using the search terms “HIV” and “AIDS” (categories: health, web search) on Google Trends. This was compared with data on estimated adults and children living with HIV, and AIDS-related deaths in South Africa, from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, and also with search interest in the topics “HIV” and “AIDS” on Wikipedia Afrikaans, the most developed local language Wikipedia service in South Africa. Nonparametric statistical tests were conducted to support the trends and associations identified in the data. Results Google Trends shows a statistically significant decline (P<.001) in search interest for AIDS relative to HIV in South Africa. This trend mirrors progress on the ground in South Africa and is significantly associated (P<.001) with a decline in AIDS-related deaths and people living longer with HIV. This trend was also replicated on Wikipedia Afrikaans, where there was a greater interest in HIV than AIDS. Conclusions This statistically significant (P<.001) association between interest in the search terms “HIV” and “AIDS” in South Africa (2004-2019) and the number of people living with HIV and AIDS in the country (2004-2019) might be an indicator that multilateral efforts at combating HIV/AIDS—particularly through awareness raising and behavioral interventions in South Africa—are bearing fruit, and this is not only evident on the ground, but is also reflected in the online information seeking on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. We acknowledge the limitation that in studying the association between Google search interests on HIV/AIDS and cases/deaths, causal relationships should not be drawn due to the limitations of the data.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Babatunde Okunoye
- Berkman Klein Centre for Internet and Society, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States.,Department of Journalism, Film and Television, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Shaoyang Ning
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Williams College, Massachusetts, MA, United States
| | - Dariusz Jemielniak
- Management in Networked and Digital Societies Department, Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Zhang C, Xu S, Li Z, Liu G, Dai D, Dong C. Evolutions and Disparities of Online Attitudes Towards COVID-19 Vaccines: A Yearlong Longitudinal and Cross-sectional Study. J Med Internet Res 2021; 24:e32394. [PMID: 34878410 PMCID: PMC8786033 DOI: 10.2196/32394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Due to the urgency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, vaccine manufacturers have to shorten and parallel the development steps to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccine production. Although all usual safety and efficacy monitoring mechanisms remain in place, varied attitudes towards the new vaccines have arisen among different population groups. OBJECTIVE This study aims to discern the evolutions and disparities of attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines among various population groups through the study of large-scale tweets spanning over a whole year. METHODS We collected over 1.4 billion tweets from June 2020 to July 2021, which cover some critical phases concerning the development and inoculation of COVID-19 vaccines worldwide. We first developed a data mining model that incorporates a series of deep learning algorithms for inferring a range of individual characteristics, both in reality and in cyberspace, as well as sentiments and emotions expressed in tweets. We further conducted an observational study, including an overall analysis, a longitudinal study and a cross-sectional study, to collectively explore attitudes of major population groups. RESULTS Our study derived three main findings. First, the whole population's attentiveness towards vaccines strongly correlated (Pearson's r=0.9512) with the official COVID-19 statistics, including confirmed cases, deaths in particular; such attentiveness was also noticeably influenced by major vaccine-related events. Second, after the beginning of the large-scale vaccine inoculation, sentiments of all population groups came to stabilize, followed by a considerably pessimistic trend after June 2021. Third, attitude disparities towards vaccines existed among population groups defined by eight different demographic characteristics. By crossing the two dimensions of attitude, we found that among population groups carrying low sentiments, some had high attentiveness ratios, such as males and individuals with age ≥40 years old, while some had low attentiveness ratios, such as individuals with age ≤18 years old, occupations of the 3rd category, account age <5 years, and follower number <500. These findings can be used as a guide in deciding who should be given more attention and what kinds of help to give to alleviate the concerns about the vaccines. CONCLUSIONS This study tracked yearlong evolutions of attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccines among various population groups defined by eight demographic characteristics, through which significant disparities of attitudes along multiple dimensions were revealed. According to these findings, it is suggested that governments and public health organizations should provide targeted interventions to address different concerns, especially to males, older people, and other individuals with low levels of education, low awareness of news, low income and light use of social media. Moreover, public health authorities may also consider cooperating with Twitter users carrying high levels of social influence to promote the acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccines among all population groups. CLINICALTRIAL
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chunyan Zhang
- Institute of Medical Artificial Intelligence, The Second Affiliate Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, CN
| | - Songhua Xu
- Institute of Medical Artificial Intelligence, The Second Affiliate Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No.157 Xiwu Road, Xi'an, CN
| | - Zongfang Li
- Institute of Medical Artificial Intelligence, The Second Affiliate Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No.157 Xiwu Road, Xi'an, CN
| | - Ge Liu
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China, Xi'an, CN
| | - Duwei Dai
- Institute of Medical Artificial Intelligence, The Second Affiliate Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No.157 Xiwu Road, Xi'an, CN
| | - Caixia Dong
- Institute of Medical Artificial Intelligence, The Second Affiliate Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No.157 Xiwu Road, Xi'an, CN
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Cai O, Sousa-Pinto B. United States Influenza Search Patterns Since the Emergence of COVID-19: Infodemiology Study. JMIR Public Health Surveill 2021; 8:e32364. [PMID: 34878996 PMCID: PMC8896565 DOI: 10.2196/32364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2021] [Revised: 10/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The emergence and media coverage of COVID-19 may have affected influenza search patterns, possibly affecting influenza surveillance results using Google Trends. Objective We aimed to investigate if the emergence of COVID-19 was associated with modifications in influenza search patterns in the United States. Methods We retrieved US Google Trends data (relative number of searches for specified terms) for the topics influenza, Coronavirus disease 2019, and symptoms shared between influenza and COVID-19. We calculated the correlations between influenza and COVID-19 search data for a 1-year period after the first COVID-19 diagnosis in the United States (January 21, 2020 to January 20, 2021). We constructed a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model and compared predicted search volumes, using the 4 previous years, with Google Trends relative search volume data. We built a similar model for shared symptoms data. We also assessed correlations for the past 5 years between Google Trends influenza data, US Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention influenza-like illness data, and influenza media coverage data. Results We observed a nonsignificant weak correlation (ρ= –0.171; P=0.23) between COVID-19 and influenza Google Trends data. Influenza search volumes for 2020-2021 distinctly deviated from values predicted by seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average models—for 6 weeks within the first 13 weeks after the first COVID-19 infection was confirmed in the United States, the observed volume of searches was higher than the upper bound of 95% confidence intervals for predicted values. Similar results were observed for shared symptoms with influenza and COVID-19 data. The correlation between Google Trends influenza data and CDC influenza-like-illness data decreased after the emergence of COVID-19 (2020-2021: ρ=0.643; 2019-2020: ρ=0.902), while the correlation between Google Trends influenza data and influenza media coverage volume remained stable (2020-2021: ρ=0.746; 2019-2020: ρ=0.707). Conclusions Relevant differences were observed between predicted and observed influenza Google Trends data the year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Such differences are possibly due to media coverage, suggesting limitations to the use of Google Trends as a flu surveillance tool.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Owen Cai
- Shadow Creek High School, Pearland, US
| | - Bernardo Sousa-Pinto
- MEDCIDS - Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Rua Plácido Costa s/n, Porto, PT.,CINTESIS - Center for Health Technologies and Services Research, University of Porto, Porto, PT
| |
Collapse
|