On-line Searches for Terms Related to Hand Hygiene During the COVID-19 Pandemic Worldwide

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the difference in the on-line searches for terms related to hand hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic in developed and middle-income countries. Material and Methods: The cross-sectional study analyzed the digital data through the Google Trends website to obtain the variation of the relative search volume (RSV) through the terms "alcohol gel" and "handwashing." According to socio-economic development, the countries were divided into two groups: countries from different continents and hemispheres, with more than 15 million inhabitants, with more than 50% of the population with access to the Internet network and over 1,000 confirmed cases of infected with COVID-19. The paired t-test was applied to compare the means. The significance value adopted was p<0.010. Results: The searches related to the term "hand washing" were more significant when compared to the term "alcohol gel," and the term "alcohol gel" presented a higher average volume of research in developed countries (p<0.010). The developed countries had a higher average relative volume of research than middle-income countries (p<0.010). Developed countries sought more for the term "alcohol gel," and the term "hand washing" showed no difference in the volume of research about the country's socio-economic aspect. Conclusion: Developed countries have a higher volume of search for hand hygiene terms. The middle-income countries must create proposals for raising awareness outside the on-line environment so that this information reaches the entire population during the pandemic.