Impact on online research on celebrities' uncommon diseases: the curious case of Justin Bieber and Ramsay Hunt syndrome.

Aim: We investigated how to use Internet user searches to gauge the impact of a celebrity illness on global public interest. Methods: The study design is cross-sectional. Data on Internet searches were obtained from Google Trends (GT) for the period between 2017–2022 using the search words "Ramsay H...

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Published in:Journal of Public Health: From Theory to Practice (2198-1833) Vol. 32; no. 9; pp. 1707 - 1716
Main Authors: Santangelo, Omar Enzo, Gianfredi, Vincenza, Provenzano, Sandro
Format: Article
Published: Springer Nature Sep2024
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Sep2024
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      pub: Springer Nature
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        180518227
        10.1007/s10389-023-01940-2
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        atl: Impact on online research on celebrities' uncommon diseases: the curious case of Justin Bieber and Ramsay Hunt syndrome.
      aug:
        au:
          Santangelo, Omar Enzo
          Gianfredi, Vincenza
          Provenzano, Sandro
        affil:
          https://ror.org/054x2er76 Regional Health Care and Social Agency of Lodi, ASST Lodi, piazza Ospitale 10, 26900, Lodi, Italy
          https://ror.org/00wjc7c48 Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Via Pascal, 36, 20133, Milan, Italy
          Local Health Unit of Trapani, ASP Trapani, 91100, Trapani, Italy
      su:
        Cross-sectional method
        Social media
        Health
        Consumer attitudes
        Information resources
        Internet
        Information-seeking behavior
        Herpes zoster
        Pearson correlation (Statistics)
        Data analysis
        Medical informatics
        Descriptive statistics
        Information storage & retrieval systems
        Statistics
        Data analysis software
      sug:
        subj:
          Cross-sectional method
          Social media
          Health
          Consumer attitudes
          Information resources
          Internet
          Information-seeking behavior
          Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals
          Wired Telecommunications Carriers
          Herpes zoster
          Pearson correlation (Statistics)
          Data analysis
          Medical informatics
          Descriptive statistics
          Information storage & retrieval systems
          Statistics
          Data analysis software
      keyword:
        Celebrities
        Global public interest
        Google trends
        Medical informatics computing
        Ramsay Hunt syndrome
        Wikipedia
        Celebrities
        Global public interest
        Google trends
        Medical informatics computing
        Ramsay Hunt syndrome
        Wikipedia
      ab: Aim: We investigated how to use Internet user searches to gauge the impact of a celebrity illness on global public interest. Methods: The study design is cross-sectional. Data on Internet searches were obtained from Google Trends (GT) for the period between 2017–2022 using the search words "Ramsay Hunt syndrome" (RHS), "Ramsay Hunt syndrome type 2," "Herpes zoster," and "Justin Bieber." The frequency of specific page views for "Ramsay Hunt syndrome," "Ramsay Hunt syndrome type 1," Ramsay Hunt syndrome type 2," Ramsay Hunt syndrome type 3," "Herpes zoster," and "Justin Bieber" were collected via a Wikipedia analysis tool that shows the number of times a specific page is viewed. Statistical analyses were performed using the Pearson (r) and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (rho). Results: GT data, in 2022, show a strong correlation for Justin Bieber and RHS or RHS type 2 (r = 0.75); similarly, Wikipedia data show a strong correlation for Justin Bieber and the others explored terms (r > 0.75). Furthermore, the correlation was strong between GT and Wikipedia for RHS (rho = 0.89) and RHS type 2 (rho = 0.88). Conclusions: The peak search times for the GT and Wikipedia pages were during the same period. Useful new tools and analyses of Internet traffic data may be effective in assessing the impact of announced celebrity uncommon illnesses on global public interest.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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