TY - JOUR
T1 - Public Online Interest in Injuries Sustained by National Football League Quarterbacks
AU - Torgerson, Trevor
AU - Checketts, Jake
AU - Thompson, Jay
AU - Hanson, Chad
AU - Vassar, Matt
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Arthroscopy Association of North America
PY - 2020/10
Y1 - 2020/10
N2 - Purpose: To use Google search data to determine the public's interest in learning about athletic injuries sustained by NFL quarterbacks and to investigate how long this interest persists after the injuries. Methods: We identified starting NFL quarterbacks during the 2019–2020 season online and used the official NFL injury report to determine whether an injury had occurred to a quarterback. We used the Google Trends tool to analyze search trends around a quarterback's injuries from July 22, 2019, to October 22, 2019. Google trends data was extracted as relative search volume over time. We then compared the results to the expected search forecast derived from an autoregressive integrated moving algorithm (ARIMA) model. Results: All 6 injured quarterbacks were associated with increases (64% to 100%) in relative search volumes for terms related to their injury. Furthermore, the data showed a consistent increase in search engine activity around the injuries associated with NFL quarterbacks in the first 3 days, marking a particularly influential time frame for public engagement. Conclusion: Our data show an increase in Google traffic surrounding the injuries of prominent NFL quarterbacks within the first 3 days following their injuries. Clinical Relevance: Social media can provide a platform for patient education through increasing patient awareness and knowledge regarding athletic injuries.
AB - Purpose: To use Google search data to determine the public's interest in learning about athletic injuries sustained by NFL quarterbacks and to investigate how long this interest persists after the injuries. Methods: We identified starting NFL quarterbacks during the 2019–2020 season online and used the official NFL injury report to determine whether an injury had occurred to a quarterback. We used the Google Trends tool to analyze search trends around a quarterback's injuries from July 22, 2019, to October 22, 2019. Google trends data was extracted as relative search volume over time. We then compared the results to the expected search forecast derived from an autoregressive integrated moving algorithm (ARIMA) model. Results: All 6 injured quarterbacks were associated with increases (64% to 100%) in relative search volumes for terms related to their injury. Furthermore, the data showed a consistent increase in search engine activity around the injuries associated with NFL quarterbacks in the first 3 days, marking a particularly influential time frame for public engagement. Conclusion: Our data show an increase in Google traffic surrounding the injuries of prominent NFL quarterbacks within the first 3 days following their injuries. Clinical Relevance: Social media can provide a platform for patient education through increasing patient awareness and knowledge regarding athletic injuries.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85113950733&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.asmr.2020.07.009
DO - 10.1016/j.asmr.2020.07.009
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85113950733
SN - 2666-061X
VL - 2
SP - e607-e614
JO - Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation
JF - Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation
IS - 5
ER -