Mental Health Interest and Its Prediction during the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Google Trends

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze and predict interest in mental health-related queries created in Google Trends (GT) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Google Trends tool collected data on the Google search engine interest and provided real-time surveillance. Five key phrases: “depression”, “insomnia”, ”loneliness”, “psychologist”, and “psychiatrist”, were studied for the period from 25 September 2016 to 19 September 2021. The predictions for the upcoming trend were carried out for the period from September 2021 to September 2023 and were estimated by a hybrid five-component model. The results show a decrease of interest in the search queries “depression” and “loneliness” by 15.3% and 7.2%, respectively. Compared to the period under review, an increase of 5.2% in “insomnia” expression and 8.4% in the “psychiatrist” phrase were predicted. The expression “psychologist” is expected to show an almost unchanged interest. The upcoming changes in the expressions connected with mental health might be explained by vaccination and the gradual removal of social distancing rules. Finally, the analysis of GT can provide a timely insight into the mental health interest of a population and give a forecast for a short period trend.

Google Trends for health research: Its advantages, application, methodological considerations, and limitations in psychiatric and mental health infodemiology

“…Psychiatric and mental health infodemiology can be defined as the science of distribution and determinants of information in an electronic medium or in a population to inform mental health services and policies. Since Google Trends is one of its most popular tools (Nuti et al, 2014 ; Mavragani et al, 2018 ; Gianfredi et al, 2021 ; Sycińska-Dziarnowska et al, 2021 ), this minireview describes its use, advantages, methodological considerations, limitations, and application to psychiatric and mental health research over the years.…”

“…Over the years, Google Trends has been used to explore various topics and phenomena related to psychiatry and mental health (Nuti et al, 2014 ; Mavragani and Ochoa, 2019 ), such as depression (Monzani et al, 2021 ; Silverio-Murillo et al, 2021 ; de la Rosa et al, 2022 ; Wang et al, 2022 ), anxiety (Monzani et al, 2021 ; de la Rosa et al, 2022 ; Lekkas et al, 2022 ), suicide (Kristoufek et al, 2016 ; Parker et al, 2017 ; Silverio-Murillo et al, 2021 ; de la Rosa et al, 2022 ), insomnia (Sycińska-Dziarnowska et al, 2021 ; Lekkas et al, 2022 ), stress (Silverio-Murillo et al, 2021 ), substance use disorder (Parker et al, 2017 ; Alibudbud and Cleofas, 2022 ), neurocognitive disorder (Piamonte et al, 2021 ), and mental health, itself (Alibudbud, 2022b ). It has also been used to explore online interests and concerns about mental health service providers such as psychiatrists and psychologists (Sycińska-Dziarnowska et al, 2021 ). Likewise, it has been utilized in psychiatric and mental health research by using search volumes worldwide and among and between countries (Monzani et al, 2021 ; Silverio-Murillo et al, 2021 ; Sycińska-Dziarnowska et al, 2021 ; Alibudbud, 2022b ; Alibudbud and Cleofas, 2022 ; de la Rosa et al, 2022 ; Lekkas et al, 2022 ; Wang et al, 2022 ).…”

“…It has also been used to explore online interests and concerns about mental health service providers such as psychiatrists and psychologists (Sycińska-Dziarnowska et al, 2021 ). Likewise, it has been utilized in psychiatric and mental health research by using search volumes worldwide and among and between countries (Monzani et al, 2021 ; Silverio-Murillo et al, 2021 ; Sycińska-Dziarnowska et al, 2021 ; Alibudbud, 2022b ; Alibudbud and Cleofas, 2022 ; de la Rosa et al, 2022 ; Lekkas et al, 2022 ; Wang et al, 2022 ). It has also been used to analyze specific psychiatric disciplines, such as social psychiatry (Alibudbud, 2022a ).…”

Psychological well-being and everyday activities in rural and urban teachers in North of Santander during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Likewise, the coronavirus has generated difficulties in sleep hygiene and sleep quality in the general population but especially in health care workers, some factors associated with these difficulties in sleep-wake cycles are decreased social activity, alterations in the hours of falling asleep, and time spent in bed; however, it should not be overlooked that other factors such as anxiety symptoms, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychological distress and stress, are also highly related to sleep dysfunction during the pandemic (22). Diz-Ferreira et al (23), stated in their study with 451 subjects during the pandemic that alterations in the quality of sleep have been registered, specifically a slight decrease and dissatisfaction in the quality of sleep, presence of insomnia, and a minimal increase in the number of hours spent in bed; in addition, the lack of physical exercise would be related to some of the established difficulties in sleep.…”

A topology-based evaluation of resilience on urban road networks against epidemic spread: Implications for COVID-19 responses

“…Since 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic has not only triggered major shifts in city operations, but has also had a considerable impact on people's travel behaviors, as well as their abilities to work and their mental health ( 1 – 4 ). Many countries have adopted strict public health control measures to contain the spread of this unprecedented and highly infectious virus, such as travel restrictions, road closures, and social distancing.…”