Cancer Internet search activity on a major search engine, United States 2001-2003

doi:10.2196/jmir.7.3.e36

. 2005 Jul 1;7(3):e36.

doi: 10.2196/jmir.7.3.e36.

Cancer Internet search activity on a major search engine, United States 2001-2003

Crystale Purvis Cooper¹, Kenneth P Mallon, Steven Leadbetter, Lori A Pollack, Lucy A Peipins

Affiliations

Affiliation

¹ Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA.

PMID: 15998627
PMCID: PMC1550657
DOI: 10.2196/jmir.7.3.e36

Cancer Internet search activity on a major search engine, United States 2001-2003

Crystale Purvis Cooper et al. J Med Internet Res. 2005.

. 2005 Jul 1;7(3):e36.

doi: 10.2196/jmir.7.3.e36.

Authors

Crystale Purvis Cooper¹, Kenneth P Mallon, Steven Leadbetter, Lori A Pollack, Lucy A Peipins

Affiliation

¹ Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA.

PMID: 15998627
PMCID: PMC1550657
DOI: 10.2196/jmir.7.3.e36

Abstract

Background: To locate online health information, Internet users typically use a search engine, such as Yahoo! or Google. We studied Yahoo! search activity related to the 23 most common cancers in the United States.

Objective: The objective was to test three potential correlates of Yahoo! cancer search activity--estimated cancer incidence, estimated cancer mortality, and the volume of cancer news coverage--and to study the periodicity of and peaks in Yahoo! cancer search activity.

Methods: Yahoo! cancer search activity was obtained from a proprietary database called the Yahoo! Buzz Index. The American Cancer Society's estimates of cancer incidence and mortality were used. News reports associated with specific cancer types were identified using the LexisNexis "US News" database, which includes more than 400 national and regional newspapers and a variety of newswire services.

Results: The Yahoo! search activity associated with specific cancers correlated with their estimated incidence (Spearman rank correlation, rho = 0.50, P = .015), estimated mortality (rho = 0.66, P = .001), and volume of related news coverage (rho = 0.88, P < .001). Yahoo! cancer search activity tended to be higher on weekdays and during national cancer awareness months but lower during summer months; cancer news coverage also tended to follow these trends. Sharp increases in Yahoo! search activity scores from one day to the next appeared to be associated with increases in relevant news coverage.

Conclusions: Media coverage appears to play a powerful role in prompting online searches for cancer information. Internet search activity offers an innovative tool for passive surveillance of health information-seeking behavior.

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Conflict of interest statement

One of the authors, KP Mallon, was employed by Yahoo! Inc at the time of this study and owns Yahoo! corporate stock.

Figures

**Figure 1**
2003 US prostate cancer Yahoo! search activity (each point of a Yahoo! search activity score equals 0.001% of the population searching Yahoo! on any day)

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

1. Sigouin Christopher, Jadad Alejandro R. Awareness of sources of peer-reviewed research evidence on the internet. JAMA. 2002 Jun 5;287(21):2867–9.joc11825 - PubMed
1. Jadad A R, Sigouin C, Cocking L, Booker L, Whelan T, Browman G. Internet use among physicians, nurses, and their patients. JAMA. 2001 Sep 26;286(12):1451–2. doi: 10.1001/jama.286.12.1451.jlt0926-4 - DOI - PubMed
1. Casebeer L, Bennett N, Kristofco R, Carillo A, Centor R. Physician Internet medical information seeking and online continuing education use patterns. J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2002;21(1):33–42. doi: 10.1002/chp.1340220105. - DOI - PubMed
1. Baker Laurence, Wagner Todd H, Singer Sara, Bundorf M Kate. Use of the Internet and e-mail for health care information: results from a national survey. JAMA. 2003 May 14;289(18):2400–6. doi: 10.1001/jama.289.18.2400. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=12746364.289/18/2400 - DOI - PubMed
1. Diaz Joseph A, Griffith Rebecca A, Ng James J, Reinert Steven E, Friedmann Peter D, Moulton Anne W. Patients' use of the Internet for medical information. J Gen Intern Med. 2002 Mar;17(3):180–5. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2002.10603.x.jgi10603 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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[1] Sigouin Christopher, Jadad Alejandro R. Awareness of sources of peer-reviewed research evidence on the internet. JAMA. 2002 Jun 5;287(21):2867–9.joc11825 - PubMed

[2] Sigouin Christopher, Jadad Alejandro R. Awareness of sources of peer-reviewed research evidence on the internet. JAMA. 2002 Jun 5;287(21):2867–9.joc11825 - PubMed

[3] Jadad A R, Sigouin C, Cocking L, Booker L, Whelan T, Browman G. Internet use among physicians, nurses, and their patients. JAMA. 2001 Sep 26;286(12):1451–2. doi: 10.1001/jama.286.12.1451.jlt0926-4 - DOI - PubMed

[4] Jadad A R, Sigouin C, Cocking L, Booker L, Whelan T, Browman G. Internet use among physicians, nurses, and their patients. JAMA. 2001 Sep 26;286(12):1451–2. doi: 10.1001/jama.286.12.1451.jlt0926-4 - DOI - PubMed

[5] Casebeer L, Bennett N, Kristofco R, Carillo A, Centor R. Physician Internet medical information seeking and online continuing education use patterns. J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2002;21(1):33–42. doi: 10.1002/chp.1340220105. - DOI - PubMed

[6] Casebeer L, Bennett N, Kristofco R, Carillo A, Centor R. Physician Internet medical information seeking and online continuing education use patterns. J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2002;21(1):33–42. doi: 10.1002/chp.1340220105. - DOI - PubMed

[7] Baker Laurence, Wagner Todd H, Singer Sara, Bundorf M Kate. Use of the Internet and e-mail for health care information: results from a national survey. JAMA. 2003 May 14;289(18):2400–6. doi: 10.1001/jama.289.18.2400. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=12746364.289/18/2400 - DOI - PubMed

[8] Baker Laurence, Wagner Todd H, Singer Sara, Bundorf M Kate. Use of the Internet and e-mail for health care information: results from a national survey. JAMA. 2003 May 14;289(18):2400–6. doi: 10.1001/jama.289.18.2400. http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=12746364.289/18/2400 - DOI - PubMed

[9] Diaz Joseph A, Griffith Rebecca A, Ng James J, Reinert Steven E, Friedmann Peter D, Moulton Anne W. Patients' use of the Internet for medical information. J Gen Intern Med. 2002 Mar;17(3):180–5. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2002.10603.x.jgi10603 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[10] Diaz Joseph A, Griffith Rebecca A, Ng James J, Reinert Steven E, Friedmann Peter D, Moulton Anne W. Patients' use of the Internet for medical information. J Gen Intern Med. 2002 Mar;17(3):180–5. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2002.10603.x.jgi10603 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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Cancer Internet search activity on a major search engine, United States 2001-2003

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Cancer Internet search activity on a major search engine, United States 2001-2003

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