Malaysian Public Interest in Common Medical Problems: A 10-Year Google Trends Analysis.

Ren Yi Kow,Norfazilah Mohamad Rafiai,Akmal Azim Ahmad Alwi,Mohamed Saufi Awang,Chooi Leng Low,Ahmad Hafiz Zulkifly,Zamzuri Zakaria@Mohamad,Khairul Nizam Siron,Nur Raziana Rozi

doi:10.7759/cureus.21257

Abstract

BackgroundAn analysis of internet search has been performed to evaluate the public interest in health problems. Google Trends (GT) serves as a free platform to analyse the search traffic for specific terms in the Google search engine. This observational study aims to investigate the trend of Malaysian population in using the Google search engine on common medical problems and explore the geographical influence on the language used.Material and methodFifteen pairs of keywords, in Malay and English language, were chosen after going through forward and backward translation and vetting by a panel of experts. GT data for the selected keywords from 1st of January 2011 to 31st of December 2020 was extracted. Trend analysis was performed using paired t-test between the first half of the decade and the second half of the decade. The different languages used were analysed based on geographical variation using paired t-test.ResultsThe public interest on those keywords was markedly increased in the second half of the decade with 29 out of 30 keywords showing statistically significant difference. Majority of the states preferred to use Malay keywords, especially those residing at the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.ConclusionThis observational study illustrates the ability of GT to track healthcare interest among Malaysian population. GT provides a good platform to analyse specific healthcare interest in Malaysian population, but investigators have to bear in mind the geographical influence on the language used.

Highlights

As the internet has become more accessible, many people are obtaining information from internet sources [1,2]
We aim to conduct a cross-section observational study to determine the public interest in common medical problems in Malaysia and the language difference in Google search of these medical problems over a 10-year period
The heavy Google Trends (GT) traffic in the second half of the decade reflects the willingness of the Malaysian population to use Google search

Summary

Introduction

As the internet has become more accessible, many people are obtaining information from internet sources [1,2]. Google Trends (GT) is a tool that allows users to freely access Google search data. It provides an in-depth analysis of billions of daily Google search results and provides information on geographical and temporal patterns in search volumes for user-specific terms. Google Trends (GT) serves as a free platform to analyse the search traffic for specific terms in the Google search engine. This observational study aims to investigate the trend of Malaysian population in using the Google search engine on common medical problems and explore the geographical influence on the language used

Objectives

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion