@article{js2021911,
author={{Mohammad, Mohammad and Crandon, Saul and Pritchard-Jones, Rowan},
title={Mapping Melanoma with Google ¨C A Record Breaking Summer and Insights into Public Awareness Using Google Trends},
journal={Global Journal of Surgery},
volume={9},
number={1},
pages={1--12},
year={2021},
url={http://pubs.sciepub.com/js/9/1/1},
issn={2379-8750},
abstract={<b>Introduction</b><b>: </b>UK melanoma incidence is continuing to rise, resulting in a growing economic burden to the NHS and wider economy. Public awareness campaigns have aimed to tackle this issue, yet the real-world impact on the UK population is poorly understood. Google Trends is a tool that identifies search interest patterns by keywords, incidence and geography. The study aim is to characterise UK and international search trends for skin cancer, tanning methods and sun protection. <b>Methods</b><b>: </b>Google Trends was systematically searched using terms associated with artificial UV tanning, sun protection and skin lesions, including cancer. The searches compared the UK to Australia and the USA (2004-2018). <b>Results</b><b>: </b>Search terms of artificial UV tanning (¡°sunbed¡±, ¡°tanning bed¡± and ¡°tanning salon¡±) peak annually during May, whereas the highest volume of searches for sun prophylaxis (¡°sun cream¡±, ¡°sunscreen¡±, ¡°sun protection¡±) and skin lesions (¡°mole¡±, ¡°skin cancer¡±) occurs during June. Troughs appear from November to January. Australia and the USA¡¯s sun protection searches occur before summer peaks. <b>Conclusions</b><b>: </b>Skin cancer-related searches occur on a predictable cycle, peaking during summer and declining over winter. The UK interest in tanning peaks during late spring/early summer, not traditionally targeted for campaigning, whilst skin cancer searches peak mid-to-late summer. This is likely post-sun damage. Australians search for skin cancer advice in their spring, supporting their well-studied culture of skin cancer awareness. These lessons can inform UK health policy. Google Trends is useful for characterising search interest, which may reflect public awareness.},
doi={10.12691/js-9-1-1}
publisher={Science and Education Publishing}
}