JMIR-E-collection 'Infodemiology and Infoveillance'

E-collection 'Infodemiology and Infoveillance'

Postmarket Drug Surveillance Without Trial Costs: Discovery of Adverse Drug Reactions Through Large-Scale Analysis of Web Search Queries

Elad Yom-Tov, Evgeniy Gabrilovich

J Med Internet Res 2013 (Jun 18); 15(6):e124

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Background: Postmarket drug safety surveillance largely depends on spontaneous reports by patients and health care providers; hence, less common adverse drug reactions—especially those caused by long-term exposure, multidrug treatments, or those specific to special populations—often elude discovery. Objective: Here we propose a low cost, fully automated method for continuous monitoring of adverse drug reactions in single drugs and in combinations thereof, and demonstrate the...

Incidence of Online Health Information Search: A Useful Proxy for Public Health Risk Perception

Bo Liang, Debra L Scammon

J Med Internet Res 2013 (Jun 17); 15(6):e114

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Background: Internet users use search engines to look for information online, including health information. Researchers in medical informatics have found a high correlation of the occurrence of certain search queries and the incidence of certain diseases. Consumers’ search for information about diseases is related to current health status with regard to a disease and to the social environments that shape the public’s attitudes and behaviors. Objective: This study aimed to...

Tweaking and Tweeting: Exploring Twitter for Nonmedical Use of a Psychostimulant Drug (Adderall) Among College Students

Carl L Hanson, Scott H Burton, Christophe Giraud-Carrier, Josh H West, Michael D Barnes, Bret Hansen

J Med Internet Res 2013 (Apr 17); 15(4):e62

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Background: Adderall is the most commonly abused prescription stimulant among college students. Social media provides a real-time avenue for monitoring public health, specifically for this population. Objective: This study explores discussion of Adderall on Twitter to identify variations in volume around college exam periods, differences across sets of colleges and universities, and commonly mentioned side effects and co-ingested substances. Methods: Public-facing Twitter status messages...

Utilizing Social Media to Study Information-Seeking and Ethical Issues in Gene Therapy

Julie M Robillard, Louise Whiteley, Thomas Wade Johnson, Jonathan Lim, Wyeth W Wasserman, Judy Illes

J Med Internet Res 2013 (Mar 04); 15(3):e44

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Background: The field of gene therapy is rapidly evolving, and while hopes of treating disorders of the central nervous system and ethical concerns have been articulated within the academic community, little is known about views and opinions of different stakeholder groups. Objective: To address this gap, we utilized social media to investigate the kind of information public users are seeking about gene therapy and the hopes, concerns, and attitudes they express. Methods: We conducted a...

Accessing Suicide-Related Information on the Internet: A Retrospective Observational Study of Search Behavior

Paul Wai-Ching Wong, King-Wa Fu, Rickey Sai-Pong Yau, Helen Hei-Man Ma, Yik-Wa Law, Shu-Sen Chang, Paul Siu-Fai Yip

J Med Internet Res 2013 (Jan 11); 15(1):e3

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Background: The Internet’s potential impact on suicide is of major public health interest as easy online access to pro-suicide information or specific suicide methods may increase suicide risk among vulnerable Internet users. Little is known, however, about users’ actual searching and browsing behaviors of online suicide-related information. Objective: To investigate what webpages people actually clicked on after searching with suicide-related queries on a search engine and to...

Searching for Truth: Internet Search Patterns as a Method of Investigating Online Responses to a Russian Illicit Drug Policy Debate

Andrey Zheluk, James A. Gillespie, Casey Quinn

J Med Internet Res 2012 (Dec 13); 14(6):e165

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Background: This is a methodological study investigating the online responses to a national debate over an important health and social problem in Russia. Russia is the largest Internet market in Europe, exceeding Germany in the absolute number of users. However, Russia is unusual in that the main search provider is not Google, but Yandex. Objective: This study had two main objectives. First, to validate Yandex search patterns against those provided by Google, and second, to test this method's...

"Right Time, Right Place" Health Communication on Twitter: Value and Accuracy of Location Information

Scott H. Burton, Kesler W. Tanner, Christophe G. Giraud-Carrier, Joshua H. West, Michael D. Barnes

J Med Internet Res 2012 (Nov 15); 14(6):e156

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Background: Twitter provides various types of location data, including exact Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, which could be used for infoveillance and infodemiology (ie, the study and monitoring of online health information), health communication, and interventions. Despite its potential, Twitter location information is not well understood or well documented, limiting its public health utility. Objective: The objective of this study was to document and describe the various types...

FluBreaks: Early Epidemic Detection from Google Flu Trends

Fahad Pervaiz, Mansoor Pervaiz, Nabeel Abdur Rehman, Umar Saif

J Med Internet Res 2012 (Oct 04); 14(5):e125

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Background: The Google Flu Trends service was launched in 2008 to track changes in the volume of online search queries related to flu-like symptoms. Over the last few years, the trend data produced by this service has shown a consistent relationship with the actual number of flu reports collected by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), often identifying increases in flu cases weeks in advance of CDC records. However, contrary to popular belief, Google Flu Trends is not an...

A Novel Evaluation of World No Tobacco Day in Latin America

John W Ayers, Benjamin M Althouse, Jon-Patrick Allem, Daniel E Ford, Kurt M Ribisl, Joanna E Cohen

J Med Internet Res 2012 (May 28); 14(3):e77

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Background: World No Tobacco Day (WNTD), commemorated annually on May 31, aims to inform the public about tobacco harms. Because tobacco control surveillance is usually annualized, the effectiveness of WNTD remains unexplored into its 25th year. Objective: To explore the potential of digital surveillance (infoveillance) to evaluate the impacts of WNTD on population awareness of and interest in cessation. Methods: Health-related news stories and Internet search queries were aggregated to form...

Natural Supplements for H1N1 Influenza: Retrospective Observational Infodemiology Study of Information and Search Activity on the Internet

Shawndra Hill, Jun Mao, Lyle Ungar, Sean Hennessy, Charles E. Leonard, John Holmes

J Med Internet Res 2011 (May 10); 13(2):e36

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Background: As the incidence of H1N1 increases, the lay public may turn to the Internet for information about natural supplements for prevention and treatment. Objective: Our objective was to identify and characterize websites that provide information about herbal and natural supplements with information about H1N1 and to examine trends in the public’s behavior in searching for information about supplement use in preventing or treating H1N1. Methods: This was a retrospective...