Abstract

Several conventional cross-sectional studies have investigated the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) and reached contrary results regarding health and well-being. As analysis of web search data already provided insights into public interest and unmet needs, this study aimed to examine axSpA-related web searches before and during COVID-19 pandemic to gain a different perspective on the impact of COVID-19 on this disease. The Google Ads Keyword Planner was used to generate axSpA-related keywords and their monthly number of searches between June 2018 and November 2021 in Germany. These keywords were qualitatively classified into seven categories. A total of 538 axSpA-related keywords were used for the analysis. The number of axSpA-related searches increased during COVID-19 pandemic (before: n = 1,525,010 vs. during: n = 1,848,300), particularly searches for symptoms, disease outcomes, and causes, while interest in disease management and diagnosis decreased. This study demonstrated a shift in public interest in axSpA during COVID-19 in Germany and highlights an urgent expansion of telemedicine to be prepared for exceptional situations such as a pandemic.

Details

Title
Change of perspective: impact of COVID-19 pandemic on axial spondyloarthritis-related web searches in Germany
Author
Wecker, Hannah 1 ; Ziehfreund, Stefanie 1 ; Hindelang, Michael 2 ; Welcker, Martin 3 ; Zink, Alexander 4 

 Technical University of Munich, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Munich, Germany (GRID:grid.6936.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2322 2966) 
 Technical University of Munich, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Munich, Germany (GRID:grid.6936.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2322 2966); Pettenkofer School of Public Health, Munich, Germany (GRID:grid.6936.a); LMU Munich, Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry, and Epidemiology-IBE, Munich, Germany (GRID:grid.5252.0) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 973X) 
 Medizinisches Versorgungszentrum für Rheumatologie Dr. M. Welcker GmbH, Planegg, Germany (GRID:grid.520060.1); RheumaDatenRhePort GbR, Planegg, Germany (GRID:grid.520060.1) 
 Technical University of Munich, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Munich, Germany (GRID:grid.6936.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2322 2966); Karolinska Institutet, Division of Dermatology and Venereology, Department of Medicine Solna, Stockholm, Sweden (GRID:grid.4714.6) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 0626) 
Pages
4044
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2928443627
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2024. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.