Monitoring HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis information seeking by combining digital and traditional data

doi:10.1186/s12879-021-05907-0

. 2021 Feb 25;21(1):215.

doi: 10.1186/s12879-021-05907-0.

Monitoring HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis information seeking by combining digital and traditional data

Derek C Johnson^{1

2}, Alicia L Nobles^{3

4}, Theodore L Caputi^{4

5}, Michael Liu⁶, Eric C Leas^{4

7}, Steffanie A Strathdee³, Davey M Smith³, John W Ayers^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, California, 92093, USA. dcjohnson@ucsd.edu.
² The Center for Data Driven Health at the Qualcomm Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA. dcjohnson@ucsd.edu.
³ Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, California, 92093, USA.
⁴ The Center for Data Driven Health at the Qualcomm Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
⁵ Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK.
⁶ University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁷ Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, Division of Health Policy, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.

PMID: 33632140
PMCID: PMC7908754
DOI: 10.1186/s12879-021-05907-0

Monitoring HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis information seeking by combining digital and traditional data

Derek C Johnson et al. BMC Infect Dis. 2021.

. 2021 Feb 25;21(1):215.

doi: 10.1186/s12879-021-05907-0.

Authors

Derek C Johnson^{1

2}, Alicia L Nobles^{3

4}, Theodore L Caputi^{4

5}, Michael Liu⁶, Eric C Leas^{4

7}, Steffanie A Strathdee³, Davey M Smith³, John W Ayers^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, California, 92093, USA. dcjohnson@ucsd.edu.
² The Center for Data Driven Health at the Qualcomm Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA. dcjohnson@ucsd.edu.
³ Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr, La Jolla, California, 92093, USA.
⁴ The Center for Data Driven Health at the Qualcomm Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.
⁵ Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, UK.
⁶ University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁷ Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, Division of Health Policy, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA.

PMID: 33632140
PMCID: PMC7908754
DOI: 10.1186/s12879-021-05907-0

Abstract

Background: Public health is increasingly turning to non-traditional digital data to inform HIV prevention and control strategies. We demonstrate a parsimonious method using both traditional survey and internet search histories to provide new insights into HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) information seeking that can be easily extended to other settings.

Method: We modeled how US internet search volumes from 2019 for HIV testing and PrEP compared against expected search volumes for HIV testing and PrEP using state HIV prevalence and socioeconomic characteristics as predictors. States with search volumes outside the upper and lower bound confidence interval were labeled as either over or under performing. State performance was evaluated by (a) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designation as a hotspot for new HIV diagnoses (b) expanding Medicaid coverage.

Results: Ten states over-performed in models assessing information seeking for HIV testing, while eleven states under-performed. Thirteen states over-performed in models assessing internet searches for PrEP information, while thirteen states under-performed. States that expanded Medicaid coverage were more likely to over perform in PrEP models than states that did not expand Medicaid coverage. While states that were hotspots for new HIV diagnoses were more likely to over perform on HIV testing searches.

Conclusion: Our study derived a method of measuring HIV and PrEP information seeking that is comparable across states. Several states exhibited information seeking for PrEP and HIV testing that deviated from model assessments. Statewide search volume for PrEP information was affected by a state's decision to expand Medicaid coverage. Our research provides health officials with an innovative way to monitor statewide interest in PrEP and HIV testing using a metric for information-seeking that is comparable across states.

Keywords: Google trends; HIV; HIV testing; Internet; PrEP.

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Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors declares any conflicts of interest.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Observed vs. Expected HIV Testing and PrEP Internet Searches as Compared to a Hypothetical Perfectly Fitting Regression Line

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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Relative Effectiveness of Social Media, Dating Apps, and Information Search Sites in Promoting HIV Self-testing: Observational Cohort Study.
Stafylis C, Vavala G, Wang Q, McLeman B, Lemley SM, Young SD, Xie H, Matthews AG, Oden N, Revoredo L, Shmueli-Blumberg D, Hichborn EG, McKelle E, Moran LM, Jacobs P, Marsch LA, Klausner JD. Stafylis C, et al. JMIR Form Res. 2022 Sep 23;6(9):e35648. doi: 10.2196/35648. JMIR Form Res. 2022. PMID: 36149729 Free PMC article.
Managing HIV During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Study of Help-Seeking Behaviors on a Social Media Forum.
Ayers JW, Zhu Z, Harrigian K, Wightman GP, Dredze M, Strathdee SA, Smith DM. Ayers JW, et al. AIDS Behav. 2024 Apr;28(4):1166-1172. doi: 10.1007/s10461-023-04134-9. Epub 2023 Jul 21. AIDS Behav. 2024. PMID: 37479919 Free PMC article.

References

1. Asur S, Huberman BA. Predicting the future with social media. In: Proceedings - 2010 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Web Intelligence, WI 2010. ; 2010. doi:10.1109/WI-IAT.2010.63
1. Goel S, Hofman JM, Lahaie S, Pennock DM, Watts DJ. Predicting consumer behavior with web search. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010. 10.1073/pnas.1005962107. - PMC - PubMed
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1. Ayers JW, Althouse BM, Dredze M. Could behavioral medicine lead the web data revolution? JAMA. 2014. 10.1001/jama.2014.1505. - PMC - PubMed

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[1] Asur S, Huberman BA. Predicting the future with social media. In: Proceedings - 2010 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Web Intelligence, WI 2010. ; 2010. doi:10.1109/WI-IAT.2010.63

[2] Asur S, Huberman BA. Predicting the future with social media. In: Proceedings - 2010 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Web Intelligence, WI 2010. ; 2010. doi:10.1109/WI-IAT.2010.63

[3] Goel S, Hofman JM, Lahaie S, Pennock DM, Watts DJ. Predicting consumer behavior with web search. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010. 10.1073/pnas.1005962107. - PMC - PubMed

[4] Goel S, Hofman JM, Lahaie S, Pennock DM, Watts DJ. Predicting consumer behavior with web search. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010. 10.1073/pnas.1005962107. - PMC - PubMed

[5] Ayers JW, Althouse BM, Dredze M, Leas EC, Noar SM. News and internet searches about human immunodeficiency virus after Charlie Sheen’s disclosure. JAMA Intern Med. 2016. 10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.0003. - PubMed

[6] Ayers JW, Althouse BM, Dredze M, Leas EC, Noar SM. News and internet searches about human immunodeficiency virus after Charlie Sheen’s disclosure. JAMA Intern Med. 2016. 10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.0003. - PubMed

[7] AIDSVu (aidsvu.org). Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health. Accessed 10 Mar 2020.

[8] AIDSVu (aidsvu.org). Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health. Accessed 10 Mar 2020.

[9] Ayers JW, Althouse BM, Dredze M. Could behavioral medicine lead the web data revolution? JAMA. 2014. 10.1001/jama.2014.1505. - PMC - PubMed

[10] Ayers JW, Althouse BM, Dredze M. Could behavioral medicine lead the web data revolution? JAMA. 2014. 10.1001/jama.2014.1505. - PMC - PubMed

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Monitoring HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis information seeking by combining digital and traditional data

Affiliations

Monitoring HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis information seeking by combining digital and traditional data

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

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MeSH terms

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Medical

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