Gupta Rishabh, Pakhchanian Haig, Raiker Rahul, Asahi Masumi, Raparla Neha, Belyea David
Ophthalmology, University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, USA.
Ophthalmology, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington DC, USA.
Cureus. 2021 Aug 15;13(8):e17207. doi: 10.7759/cureus.17207. eCollection 2021 Aug.
Purpose To assess national internet search trends/public interest in refractive diseases and treatments during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A Google Trends search for refractive terms was performed during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Refractive terms were divided into disease and treatment terms. Relative search volume (RSV) indices were assessed in the United States from the initial lockdown period (March 1 - June 28), summer reopening period (July 5 - November 1), and winter case surge/vaccine rollout period (November 8 - February 28). A t-test of two independent samples assuming unequal variances was utilized in comparing the pandemic year to pooled data of overlapping weeks between 2016-2019. Results The majority of disease and treatment terms showed a significant decrease in RSV during the initial lockdown period (p<0.05). There was a significant increase in RSV for cataract, astigmatism, cataract surgery, and photorefractive keratotomy (PRK) (p<0.05), accompanied by a significant decrease in RSV for contact lens during the summer reopening period. There was a significant increase in RSV for cataract, astigmatism, glasses, and PRK, accompanied by a significant decrease in RSV for hyperopia, keratoconus, contact lens, and LASIK during the winter case surge/vaccine rollout period. Conclusion There was a significant decrease in the public interest in refractive diseases and treatments during the lockdown period, accompanied by an increase in interest later in the year. Decreased public interest can lead to delays in care, poorer health literacy, and potentially worse outcomes. Strategies to enhance public interest and care during the pandemic may prove to be beneficial.
目的 评估在新冠疫情大流行的第一年期间全国范围内互联网搜索趋势/公众对屈光疾病及治疗的关注度。方法 在新冠疫情大流行的第一年进行了谷歌趋势搜索，搜索屈光相关词汇。屈光相关词汇分为疾病和治疗两类词汇。在美国，从初始封锁期（3月1日至6月28日）、夏季重新开放期（7月5日至11月1日）以及冬季病例激增/疫苗推出期（11月8日至2月28日）评估相对搜索量（RSV）指数。采用假设方差不等的两个独立样本t检验，将大流行年份与2016 - 2019年重叠周的汇总数据进行比较。结果 在初始封锁期，大多数疾病和治疗词汇的RSV显著下降（p<0.05）。白内障、散光、白内障手术和准分子激光角膜切削术（PRK）的RSV显著增加（p<0.05），同时在夏季重新开放期隐形眼镜的RSV显著下降。在冬季病例激增/疫苗推出期，白内障、散光、眼镜和PRK的RSV显著增加，同时远视、圆锥角膜、隐形眼镜和准分子原位角膜磨镶术（LASIK）的RSV显著下降。结论 在封锁期公众对屈光疾病及治疗的关注度显著下降，随后在当年后期有所上升。公众关注度下降可能导致治疗延迟、健康素养降低以及潜在的更差结果。在疫情期间提高公众关注度和治疗的策略可能被证明是有益的。
