Assessing Public Interest in Autism in Türkiye Using Google Trends Türkiye’de Otizme Yönelik Kamu İlgisinin Google Trends Kullanılarak Değerlendirilmesi

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Akdağ B., Çelebi S. B., BİNOKAY H., KARA E.

Turkish Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, cilt.32, sa.3, ss.170-174, 2025 (Scopus, TRDizin)

Özet

Objectives: The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is increasing globally, presenting substantial challenges to affected individuals and their caregivers. Concurrently, there are no established diagnostic biomarkers for ASD, making awareness essential for timely and accurate diagnosis. Prior research highlighted that analyzing Google search queries offers a valuable method for assessing real-time global trends and public interest in health conditions. Accordingly, this study aims to measure public interest in autism by analyzing Google Trends data from April 2014 to April 2024 in Türkiye. Materials and Methods: Google Trends, an online service that tracks the frequency of search queries on the internet, was employed to analyze web activity from April 2014 through April 2024 in Türkiye. Results: Throughout the observation period from April 2014 to April 2024, a significant rise in relative search volume (RSV) for autism was noted. An analysis of monthly search queries across all years identified April as the month with the highest RSV peak for autism, attributable to autism awareness events such as World Autism Awareness Day. However, this trend was transient and did not encompass the entire year. Conclusion: The findings reveal an increase in internet interest in autism in Türkiye. They also highlight the potential impact of autism awareness events on the rise of internet interest. Enacting policies that enhance awareness of autism among the general population is essential. Crucially, these initiatives should be implemented throughout the entire year and not be limited to specific times.