When in doubt, Google it: distress-related information seeking in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background Psychological health has been one of the aspects affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to evaluate the patterns of Google search for mental distress symptoms of Italian citizens during the various phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We assessed Google searches for psychological-health related words. We gathered and analyzed data on daily search queries on depression, anxiety, and insomnia from Google Trends, in a time ranging from the Pre-COVID phase (beginning 25th January 2020) up to the second wave phase (ending 17th October 2020). We performed three general linear models on search trends of the three words and tested whether and to what extent official data about new cases of COVID-19, information searching on new cases, and the government health measures impacted on these trends. Results Average daily search queries were higher for anxiety, followed by depression and insomnia. General linear models performed to assess differences in daily search queries for anxiety, depression and insomnia were significant, respectively [F(13, 253) = 6.80, P < .001]; [F(13, 253) = 10.25, P < .001]; [F(13, 253) = 6.61, P < .001]. Specifically, daily search queries differed among different phases of managing the COVID-19 outbreak: anxiety [F(5, 253) = 10.35, P < .001, $$ {n}_p^2 $$ n p 2 = .17]; depression [F(5, 253) = 13.59, P < .001, $$ {n}_p^2 $$ n p 2 = .21]; insomnia [F(5, 253) = 3.52, P = .004, $$ {n}_p^2 $$ n p 2 = .07]. Conclusions Our study contributed to the investigation of online information-seeking behaviors of Italians regarding mental health throughout the entire phase of the pandemic and provides insights on the possible future trends of mental distress during upcoming pandemic phases.

Anxiety about the pandemic and trust in financial markets

“…These aspects are related to the uncertainty surrounding the evolution of the pandemic and expectations about its effects. In our framework, we follow Rovetta and Castaldo (2020); Monzani et al (2021);Fetzer et al (2021); Binder (2020) and hypothesise that anxiety is manifested via the intensity of the searches run on Google and related to the virus. The proposed indicators allow for capturing the changes in moods over timefor the case of the A j presented in Eq.…”

“…Fetzer et al (2021) complement Binder (2020's perspective by also including the time dimension and the causal effect of the pandemic on the increased economic anxiety. The methodological ground of Fetzer et al (2021) lies in the meaningfulness of Google Trends data, which is assumed to give in-depth information on the development of anxiety in the specific context of the economic outcomes (for additional supportive pieces of evidence that relates web searches and population anxiety see Rovetta and Castaldo 2020;Monzani et al 2021;Halford et al 2020). We adopt Fetzer et al (2021)'s view and hypothesise that anxiety about COVID-19 is proxied by the irrepressible persistence of related web searches (on the significance such a type of data, see Cinelli et al 2020;Choi and Ahn 2020 in the former an analysis of the infodemic is presented, in the latter the Google Trends data are used in an influenza spread forecast model).…”

Google Trends for health research: Its advantages, application, methodological considerations, and limitations in psychiatric and mental health infodemiology

“…Over the years, Google Trends has been used to explore various topics and phenomena related to psychiatry and mental health (Nuti et al, 2014 ; Mavragani and Ochoa, 2019 ), such as depression (Monzani et al, 2021 ; Silverio-Murillo et al, 2021 ; de la Rosa et al, 2022 ; Wang et al, 2022 ), anxiety (Monzani et al, 2021 ; de la Rosa et al, 2022 ; Lekkas et al, 2022 ), suicide (Kristoufek et al, 2016 ; Parker et al, 2017 ; Silverio-Murillo et al, 2021 ; de la Rosa et al, 2022 ), insomnia (Sycińska-Dziarnowska et al, 2021 ; Lekkas et al, 2022 ), stress (Silverio-Murillo et al, 2021 ), substance use disorder (Parker et al, 2017 ; Alibudbud and Cleofas, 2022 ), neurocognitive disorder (Piamonte et al, 2021 ), and mental health, itself (Alibudbud, 2022b ). It has also been used to explore online interests and concerns about mental health service providers such as psychiatrists and psychologists (Sycińska-Dziarnowska et al, 2021 ).…”

“…It has also been used to explore online interests and concerns about mental health service providers such as psychiatrists and psychologists (Sycińska-Dziarnowska et al, 2021 ). Likewise, it has been utilized in psychiatric and mental health research by using search volumes worldwide and among and between countries (Monzani et al, 2021 ; Silverio-Murillo et al, 2021 ; Sycińska-Dziarnowska et al, 2021 ; Alibudbud, 2022b ; Alibudbud and Cleofas, 2022 ; de la Rosa et al, 2022 ; Lekkas et al, 2022 ; Wang et al, 2022 ). It has also been used to analyze specific psychiatric disciplines, such as social psychiatry (Alibudbud, 2022a ).…”

Coronavirus disease 2019 information-seeking behavior globally: a systematic review

“…The CDC website and the Florida department of health website were the major sources of health information, Loosen et al 33 The presence of a chronic condition and mental health problems (anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder) were the determinant factors significantly associated with ISB across the globe. 18,33,36 The possible explanation might be that having a chronic condition increases their level of risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection and might develop fear as a motivation factor; so to prevent COVID-19 infection these individuals are more likely to seek information on different preventive behaviors recommended by different concerned bodies.…”