IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i3p954-d316213.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“Dr. Google, I am in Pain”—Global Internet Searches Associated with Pain: A Retrospective Analysis of Google Trends Data

Author

Listed:
  • Mikołaj Kamiński

    (Sanprobi Sp.z.o.o. Sp.K., 70-535 Szczecin, Poland
    Faculty of Medicine I, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, 60-780 Poznan, Poland)

  • Igor Łoniewski

    (Department of Biochemistry and Human Nutrition, Pomeranian Medical University, 70-204 Szczecin, Poland)

  • Wojciech Marlicz

    (Department of Gastroenterology, Pomeranian Medical University, 70-204 Szczecin, Poland)

Abstract

We aimed to rank the most common locations of pain among Google users globally and locally and analyze secular and seasonal trends in pain-related searches in the years 2004–2019. We used data generated by Google Trends (GT) to identify and analyze global interest in topics ( n = 24) related to locations of pain and how these progressed over time. We analyzed secular trends and time series decomposition to identify seasonal variations. We also calculated the interest in all topics with reference to the relative search volume (RSV) of “Abdominal pain”. Google users were most commonly interested in “Headache” (1.30 [times more frequently than “Abdominal pain”]), “Abdominal pain” (1.00), and “Back pain” (0.84). “Headache” was the most frequent search term in n = 41 countries, while “Abdominal pain” was the most frequent term in n = 27 countries. The interest in all pain-related topics except “Dyspareunia” increased over time. The sharpest increase was observed for “Abdominal pain” (5.67 RSV/year), and “Toothache” (5.52 RSV/year). Most of the topics revealed seasonal variations. Among pain-related topics, “Headache,” “Abdominal pain,” and “Back pain” interested most Google users. GT is a novel tool that allows retrospective investigation of complaints among Internet users.

Suggested Citation

  • Mikołaj Kamiński & Igor Łoniewski & Wojciech Marlicz, 2020. "“Dr. Google, I am in Pain”—Global Internet Searches Associated with Pain: A Retrospective Analysis of Google Trends Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-14, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:3:p:954-:d:316213
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/3/954/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/3/954/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Siciliani, Luigi & Moran, Valerie & Borowitz, Michael, 2014. "Measuring and comparing health care waiting times in OECD countries," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(3), pages 292-303.
    2. Matheus Lotto & Patricia Estefania Ayala Aguirre & Daniela Rios & Maria Aparecida Andrade Moreira Machado & Agnes Fátima Pereira Cruvinel & Thiago Cruvinel, 2017. "Analysis of the interests of Google users on toothache information," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(10), pages 1-17, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Connolly, Sheelah & Brick, Aoife & O'Neill, Ciarán & O'Callaghan, Michael, 2022. "An analysis of the primary care systems of Ireland and Northern Ireland," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS137.
    2. Johansson, Kjell Arne & Nygaard, Elizabeth & Herlofsen, Berit & Lindemark, Frode, 2017. "Implementation of the 2013 amended Patients’ Rights Act in Norway: Clinical priority guidelines and access to specialised health care," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(4), pages 346-353.
    3. Lippi Bruni, Matteo & Ugolini, Cristina & Verzulli, Rossella, 2021. "Should I wait or should I go? Travelling versus waiting for better healthcare," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    4. Gutacker, Nils & Siciliani, Luigi & Cookson, Richard, 2016. "Waiting time prioritisation: Evidence from England," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 140-151.
    5. Lee, Mandy & Martin-Carroll, Margaret & von Mollendorff, Wendy & Condon, Claire & Kavanagh, Matthew & Thomas, Stephen, 2021. "Common patterns in the public reporting of waiting time and waiting list information: Findings from a sample of OECD jurisdictions," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(8), pages 1002-1012.
    6. Marenzi, Anna & Rizzi, Dino & Zanette, Michele, 2021. "Incentives for voluntary health insurance in a national health system: Evidence from Italy," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(6), pages 685-692.
    7. Montmartin, Benjamin & Herrera-Gómez, Marcos, 2023. "Spatial dependence in physicians’ prices and additional fees: Evidence from France," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    8. Siciliani, L., 2016. "Waiting Time Policies in the Health Sector," Seminar Briefing 001724, Office of Health Economics.
    9. Walsh, Brendan & Nolan, Anne & Brick, Aoife & Keegan, Conor, 2019. "Did the expansion of free GP care impact demand for Emergency Department attendances? A difference-in-differences analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 101-111.
    10. Halla, Martin & Kah, Christopher & Sausgruber, Rupert, 2021. "Testing for Ethnic Discrimination in Outpatient Health Care: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Germany," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 319, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    11. Bonekamp, Johan & Wouterse, Bram, 2023. "Do different shocks in health matter for wealth?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    12. Walsh, Brendan & Wren, Maev-Ann & Smith, Samantha & Lyons, Seán & Eighan, James & Morgenroth, Edgar, 2019. "An analysis of the effects on Irish hospital care of the supply of care inside and outside the hospital," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS91.
    13. Fabián Silva-Aravena & Jimmy H. Gutiérrez-Bahamondes & Hugo Núñez Delafuente & Roberto M. Toledo-Molina, 2022. "An Intelligent System for Patients’ Well-Being: A Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(21), pages 1-22, October.
    14. Lautier, Marc, 2014. "International trade of health services: Global trends and local impact," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 105-113.
    15. Carnazza, Giovanni & Liberati, Paolo & Resce, Giuliano, 2023. "Income-related unmet needs in the European countries," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 87(PA).
    16. Junhel Dalanon & Yoshizo Matsuka, 2020. "A 10‐Year Analysis of Internet Search Trends of the Oral Health−Seeking Behavior of Filipinos," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(2), pages 175-187, June.
    17. Aida Ribera & John Slof & Ignacio Ferreira-González & Vicente Serra & Bruno García-del Blanco & Purificació Cascant & Rut Andrea & Carlos Falces & Enrique Gutiérrez & Raquel del Valle-Fernández & Césa, 2018. "The impact of waiting for intervention on costs and effectiveness: the case of transcatheter aortic valve replacement," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 19(7), pages 945-956, September.
    18. Fabián Silva-Aravena & Eduardo Álvarez-Miranda & César A. Astudillo & Luis González-Martínez & José G. Ledezma, 2021. "Patients’ Prioritization on Surgical Waiting Lists: A Decision Support System," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-27, May.
    19. Igor Sheiman, 2019. "Maximum Waiting Times Guarantee In Russia: Does It Improve Access To Health Care?," HSE Working papers WP BRP 23/PSP/2019, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    20. Fukushima, Kazuya & Mizuoka, Sou & Yamamoto, Shunsuke & Iizuka, Toshiaki, 2016. "Patient cost sharing and medical expenditures for the Elderly," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 115-130.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:3:p:954-:d:316213. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.