Abstract
Introduction: To demonstrate public interest in reconstructive urology during the COVID-19 pandemic by using Google Trends (GT).Methods: The study was conducted between August 1 and August 11, 2021. A total of 18 terms related to reconstructive urology were determined. Public interest in all terms were evaluated with the GT application using the filters ‘worldwide’, ‘all categories’, and ‘web search’. To determine public interest in reconstructive urology during the COVID-19 pandemic, three 12-week periods following the declaration of COVID-19 (March 11 to June 4, 2020, June 5 to August 29, 2020, and August 30 to November 23, 2020) were compared with the same periods in the past four years (2016-2019).Results: Comparisons of March 11 to June 4, 2020, and the same days in the previous four years revealed that total public attention to reconstructive urology significantly declined (−16.2%, p=0.035). In the comparison of the second 12-week duration (June 5 to August 29, 2020, vsJune 5 to August 29, 2016-2019), only the bladder augmentation term had significantly lower search frequency during COVID-19 (−46.3%, p=0.043), but buried penis (50.3%, p=0.001), urinary incontinence (15.3%, p=0.001), and stress urinary incontinence (21.7%, p=0.001) keywords had significantly higher inquiries. The comparison of the third 12-week period searches for only urinary incontinence significantly increased (p=0.001).Conclusion: Present study showed that public interest in reconstructive urology significantly reduced in the first 12 weeks after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. However, public attention to reconstructive urology reached similar levels after 12 weeks from the beginning of COVID-19. Additionally, the term urinary incontinence was searched statistically more frequently during the COVID-19.
Highlights
To demonstrate public interest in reconstructive urology during the COVID-19 pandemic by using Google Trends (GT)
To determine public interest in reconstructive urology during the COVID-19 pandemic, three 12-week periods following the declaration of COVID-19 (March 11 to June 4, 2020, June 5 to August 29, 2020, and August 30 to November 23, 2020) were compared with the same periods in the past four years (2016-2019)
Comparisons of March 11 to June 4, 2020, and the same days in the previous four years revealed that total public attention to reconstructive urology significantly declined (-16.2%, p=0.035)
Summary
To demonstrate public interest in reconstructive urology during the COVID-19 pandemic by using Google Trends (GT). The novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) was first detected at the end of 2019 in South Asia, and COVID19 spread to all continents in a short time. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 affected almost 250 million people, and 4.5 million individuals died due to COVID-19 and COVID-19-associated complications [2]. In early March 2020, WHO accepted COVID-19 as a pandemic, and numerous governments declared social isolation, transportation restrictions, and quarantine to prevent quick transmission of COVID-19. Difficulties in accessing the health system during COVID-19 led people to obtain knowledge about their complaints and disorders from television, books, and the internet
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