Harnessing Google Health Trends API Data for Epidemiologic Research.

ABSTRACT: Interest in using internet search data, such as that from the Google Health Trends Application Programming Interface (GHT-API), to measure epidemiologically relevant exposures or health outcomes is growing due to their accessibility and timeliness. Researchers input search term(s), geography and time period, and the GHT-API returns a scaled probability of that search term, given all searches within the specified geo-time period. In this study, we detail a method for using these data to measure a construct of interest in five iterative steps: first, identify phrases the target population may use to search for the construct of interest; second, refine candidate search phrases with incognito Google searches to improve sensitivity and specificity; third, craft the GHT-API search term(s) by com

SUBMITTER: Neumann K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9619602 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature