Impact of Sickle Cell Awareness Day on online health information seeking in Africa using Google Trends

Parry, Emma; Ayinla-Jimoh, Idayat; Shepherd, Thomas A

Abstract

The United Nations Council Assembly recognized sickle cell disease (SCD) as a global public health problem due to its increasing burden, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. To raise awareness, a resolution was adopted, designating June 19th as SCD awareness day. However, the impact of this awareness day on online health information seeking behaviour (OHISB) in African countries is not well understood, especially in Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda where SCD prevalence is high. To assess the impact, the study used Google Trends data as a measure of OHISB for SCD. The analysis covered the 60 days before the awareness day, the awareness day itself, and the 60 days afterward. Time series analysis was conducted using joinpoint regression to identify significant changes in OHISB trends. The results indicated that the impact of the Sickle Cell Awareness Day on OHISB varied across African countries and did not consistently inspire significant changes in information seeking behaviour. This suggests the need for more targeted awareness campaigns to improve public knowledge of SCD in Africa. It also highlights the importance of revising the current awareness day or creating alternative health awareness initiatives that adopt a long-term approach and address the specific health needs of the African population. Furthermore, due to limitations in using Google Trends data in some African countries with insufficient data, future research should explore other sources of internet data or conduct surveys to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of the Sickle Cell Awareness Day on OHISB in Africa.

Citation

Parry, E., Ayinla-Jimoh, I., & Shepherd, T. A. (2023). Impact of Sickle Cell Awareness Day on online health information seeking in Africa using Google Trends. Health Promotion International, 38(6), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daad152

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 1, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Dec 2, 2023
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2023
• Deposit Date: Dec 3, 2023
• Journal: Health Promotion International
• Print ISSN: 0957-4824
• Electronic ISSN: 1460-2245
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 38
• Issue: 6
• Article Number: daad152
• Pages: 1-9
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daad152
• Keywords: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health; Health (social science)