Department of Dermatology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, United States.
University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, United States.
JMIR Dermatol. 2021 May 25;4(1):e27712. doi: 10.2196/27712.
Google Trends is a powerful online database and analytics tool of popular Google search queries over time and has the potential to inform medical practice and priorities.
This review aimed to survey Google Trends literature in dermatology and elucidate its current roles and relationships with the field.
A literature search was performed using PubMed to access and review relevant dermatology-related Google Trends studies published within the last 5 years.
Current research utilizing Google Trends data provides insight related to skin cancer, pruritus, cosmetic procedures, and COVID-19. We also found that dermatology is presently the highest-searched medical specialty-among 15 medical and surgical specialties as well as general practitioners. Google searches related to dermatology demonstrate a seasonal nature for various skin conditions and sun-related topics, depending on a region's inherent climate and hemi-sphere. In addition, celebrity social media and other viral posts have been found to potentiate Google searches about dermatology and drive public interest.
A limited number of relevant studies may have been omitted by the simplified search strategy of this study, as well as by restriction to English language articles and articles indexed in the PubMed database. This could be expanded upon in a secondary systematic review. Future re-search is warranted to better understand how Google Trends can be utilized to improve the quality of clinic visits, drive public health campaigns, and detect disease clusters in real time.
Google Trends 是一个强大的在线数据库和分析工具,可用于分析一段时间内的热门谷歌搜索查询,并有可能为医疗实践和优先事项提供信息。
本综述旨在调查皮肤科领域的 Google Trends 文献,并阐明其当前的作用及其与该领域的关系。
通过 PubMed 进行文献检索,以获取并回顾过去 5 年内发表的与皮肤科相关的 Google Trends 研究。
目前利用 Google Trends 数据的研究提供了与皮肤癌、瘙痒、美容程序和 COVID-19 相关的见解。我们还发现,皮肤科是目前搜索量最高的医学专业——在 15 个医学和外科专业以及普通科医生中排名第一。Google 搜索与皮肤科相关的内容显示,各种皮肤状况和与太阳相关的主题存在季节性,具体取决于所在地区的固有气候和半球。此外,名人社交媒体和其他病毒式帖子已被发现可以增加皮肤科的 Google 搜索量,并引起公众兴趣。
由于本研究简化的搜索策略,以及对英语文章和 PubMed 数据库索引文章的限制,可能遗漏了一些相关研究。这可以在二次系统综述中进一步扩展。未来的研究是必要的,以更好地了解如何利用 Google Trends 来提高就诊质量、推动公共卫生运动以及实时检测疾病集群。