Oral Presentation Smart Strokes Annual Scientific Meeting 2025

Exploring Australian Internet Searches for Stroke-Related Health Information: A Google Trends Analysis. (127455)

Danny Kinsella 1 , Caleb Ferguson 2 3 , Sabine Allida 2 3
  1. Stroke Service, Alfred Hospital , Melbourne , VIC, Australia
  2. School of Nursing, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
  3. Centre for Chronic & Complex Care Research, Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney , NSW, Australia

Introduction: As digital technology use becomes widespread in Australia, the public are increasingly turning to online search engines like Google for health-related information. The field of ‘infodemiology’ allows us to explore online search behaviour regarding stroke-specific information. Google Trends is a tool that analyses online search volume and queries, providing insights into the community's understanding of stroke-related health issues.

Methods: A Google Trends trend analysis was conducted 5thJune2025, using the search term "Stroke" from 4thJune2020, to 4thJune2025, restricted to Australia and categorised under "Health", Results are presented as relative normalised search volume numbers (RNSN), a normalised scale compared to all other online search queries accounting for geographical and population variations, expressed from 0(lowest) to 100(highest).

Results: Over the quinquennium, the average search interest in stroke in Australia was 80.5 RNSN, with fluctuations ranging from 49-RNSN (26thDecember2021) to 100-RNSN (7thMay2023). By territory, South Australia had the highest interest at 100 RNSN, while the Australian Capital Territory had the lowest at 78-RNSN. The top search stroke specific query topics included ‘stroke symptoms’ (13-RNSN), ‘CVA’ (6-RNSN), ‘stroke signs’ (6-RNSN), ‘brain stroke’ (5-RNSN), and ‘what is stroke’ (3-RNSN). Notably, searches for ‘Hailey Bieber stroke’ and ‘mini stroke symptoms in females’ saw viral spike in interest (exceeding >5000% search increase).

Conclusion: The results indicate that the Australian community does indeed in high volume search online for specific stroke-specific health information. Additionally, the results observe the associated influence of celebrity and media on public interest for stroke health information.

 Relevance to clinical practice, policy & planning: These findings are the first to provide insights into the Australian community’s online-search of stroke-specific information. Understanding health information-seeking behaviour is crucial for health providers, governmental agencies and organisations. Who aim to create targeted stroke awareness campaigns and critically monitoring and improved access to health literacy within the community.