Key Objectives:
Roundtable participants will discuss the practical application and integration of search engine data to traditional STI surveillance methods. Roundtable participants will explore and document potential barriers and facilitators to integrating a novel surveillance method. Roundtable participants will assess the feasibility and acceptability of Google Trends for STI surveillance within their own jurisdictions.
Brief Summary:
National surveillance of STIs relies on mandatory case reporting, a system that produces data that is often incomplete and limited in scope. This results in missed opportunities to identify and respond to trends in disease as well as limited ability to guide STI control. As the internet is a portal for free and anonymously available health information, search engine data provides an additional venue for surveillance efforts which may lead to earlier detection of trends and increased ability to monitor impact and geographic spread. Our preliminary study indicated there is a correlation between STI rates and search terms (entered into Google) by US city and state. Search engine data has the potential to be an efficient and economical enhancement to the established surveillance system. New surveillance methods may allow for significant surveillance improvements, particularly in timeliness, flexibility, and representativeness. In this roundtable, we will discuss the results from an online national survey with health department surveillance workers, designed to capture the potential for integrating internet search trend data into the current STI surveillance system. Using data from the survey, we will lead a discussion about the barriers and facilitators to integrating a new technology into the current STI surveillance system, as well as analyze the practical application of the proposed new method. While data from Google Trends has been used to accurately predict trends in several other infectious diseases, this is the first time it has been applied to STIs. Exploring this innovative tool has the potential to bring us one step closer to real-time surveillance of STIs, enhance understanding of the diseases under surveillance and increase the simplicity and flexibility of the current surveillance system.