Theodore Caputi
Postdoctoral Scholar, Surgery
All Publications
-
Dying or Lying? For-Profit Hospices and End-of-Life Care
AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
2025; 115 (1): 263-294
View details for DOI 10.1257/aer.20230328
View details for Web of Science ID 001390499200008
-
Characterizing Help-Seeking Searches for Substance Use Treatment From Google Trends and Assessing Their Use for Infoveillance: Longitudinal Descriptive and Validation Statistical Analysis.
Journal of medical Internet research
2022; 24 (12): e41527
Abstract
There is no recognized gold standard method for estimating the number of individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) seeking help within a given geographical area. This presents a challenge to policy makers in the effective deployment of resources for the treatment of SUDs. Internet search queries related to help seeking for SUDs using Google Trends may represent a low-cost, real-time, and data-driven infoveillance tool to address this shortfall in information.This paper assesses the feasibility of using search query data related to help seeking for SUDs as an indicator of unmet treatment needs, demand for treatment, and predictor of the health harms related to unmet treatment needs. We explore a continuum of hypotheses to account for different outcomes that might be expected to occur depending on the demand for treatment relative to the system capacity and the timing of help seeking in relation to trajectories of substance use and behavior change.We used negative binomial regression models to examine temporal trends in the annual SUD help-seeking internet search queries from Google Trends by US state for cocaine, methamphetamine, opioids, cannabis, and alcohol from 2010 to 2020. To validate the value of these data for surveillance purposes, we then used negative binomial regression models to investigate the relationship between SUD help-seeking searches and state-level outcomes across the continuum of care (including lack of care). We started by looking at associations with self-reported treatment need using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, a national survey of the US general population. Next, we explored associations with treatment admission rates from the Treatment Episode Data Set, a national data system on SUD treatment facilities. Finally, we studied associations with state-level rates of people experiencing and dying from an opioid overdose, using data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the CDC WONDER database.Statistically significant differences in help-seeking searches were observed over time between 2010 and 2020 (based on P<.05 for the corresponding Wald tests). We were able to identify outlier states for each drug over time (eg, West Virginia for both opioids and methamphetamine), indicating significantly higher help-seeking behaviors compared to national trends. Results from our validation analyses across different outcomes showed positive, statistically significant associations for the models relating to treatment need for alcohol use, treatment admissions for opioid and methamphetamine use, emergency department visits related to opioid use, and opioid overdose mortality data (based on regression coefficients having P≤.05).This study demonstrates the clear potential for using internet search queries from Google Trends as an infoveillance tool to predict the demand for substance use treatment spatially and temporally, especially for opioid use disorders.
View details for DOI 10.2196/41527
View details for PubMedID 36454620
-
Re: "Observed Impact of Long-Term Consumption of Oral Cannabidiol on Liver Function in Healthy Adults" and a Recent Announcement of a New Cannabidiol Safety Study.
Cannabis and cannabinoid research
2022; 7 (6): 896-897
View details for DOI 10.1089/can.2022.0191
View details for PubMedID 36251759
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC9784581
-
The Use of Academic Research in Medical Cannabis Marketing: A Qualitative and Quantitative Review of Company Websites
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs
2022; 83 (1): 5-17
View details for DOI 10.15288/jsad.2022.83.5
-
Impact of the Medicare Shared Savings Program on utilization of mental health and substance use services by eligibility and race/ethnicity.
Health services research
2021; 56 (4): 581-591
Abstract
To assess the impact of the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) ACOs on mental health and substance use services utilization and racial/ethnic disparities in care for these conditions.Five percent random sample of Medicare claims from 2009 to 2016.We compared Medicare beneficiaries in MSSP ACOs to non-MSSP beneficiaries, stratifying analyses by Medicare eligibility (disability vs age 65+). We estimated difference-in-difference models of MSSP ACOs on mental health and substance use visits (outpatient and inpatient), medication fills, and adequate care for depression adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, region, and chronic medical and behavioral health conditions. To examine the differential impact of MSSP on our outcomes by race/ethnicity, we used a difference-in-difference-in-differences (DDD) design.Not applicable.MSSP ACOs were associated with small reductions in outpatient mental health (Coeff: -0.012, P < .001) and substance use (Coeff: -0.001, P < .01) visits in the disability population, and in adequate care for depression for both the disability- and age-eligible populations (Coeff: -0.028, P < .001; Coeff: -0.012, P < .001, respectively). MSSP ACO's were also associated with increases in psychotropic medications (Coeff: 0.007 and Coeff: 0.0213, for disability- and age-eligible populations, respectively, both P < .001) and reductions in inpatient mental health stays (Coeff:-0.004, P < .001, and Coeff:-0.0002, P < .01 for disability- and age-eligible populations, respectively) and substance use-related stays for disability-eligible populations (Coeff:-0.0005, P<.05). The MSSP effect on disparities varied depending on type of service.We found small reductions in outpatient and inpatient stays and in rates of adequate care for depression associated with MSSP ACOs. As MSSP ACOs are placed at more financial risk for population-based treatment, it will be important to include more robust behavioral health quality measures in their contracts and to monitor disparities in care.
View details for DOI 10.1111/1475-6773.13625
View details for PubMedID 33543782
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC8313953
-
What cannabis can learn from Covid: Hydroxychloroquine research suggests the next step for medical cannabis research.
The International journal on drug policy
2021; 93: 103133
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103133
View details for PubMedID 33517127
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7843244
-
Commentary on Furr-Holden et al. : Drugs, class, and race-recent developments in the opioid epidemic call for urgent next steps.
Addiction (Abingdon, England)
2021; 116 (3): 684-685
View details for DOI 10.1111/add.15339
View details for PubMedID 33345383
-
Monitoring HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis information seeking by combining digital and traditional data.
BMC infectious diseases
2021; 21 (1): 215
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Public health is increasingly turning to non-traditional digital data to inform HIV prevention and control strategies. We demonstrate a parsimonious method using both traditional survey and internet search histories to provide new insights into HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) information seeking that can be easily extended to other settings.METHOD: We modeled how US internet search volumes from 2019 for HIV testing and PrEP compared against expected search volumes for HIV testing and PrEP using state HIV prevalence and socioeconomic characteristics as predictors. States with search volumes outside the upper and lower bound confidence interval were labeled as either over or under performing. State performance was evaluated by (a) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designation as a hotspot for new HIV diagnoses (b) expanding Medicaid coverage.RESULTS: Ten states over-performed in models assessing information seeking for HIV testing, while eleven states under-performed. Thirteen states over-performed in models assessing internet searches for PrEP information, while thirteen states under-performed. States that expanded Medicaid coverage were more likely to over perform in PrEP models than states that did not expand Medicaid coverage. While states that were hotspots for new HIV diagnoses were more likely to over perform on HIV testing searches.CONCLUSION: Our study derived a method of measuring HIV and PrEP information seeking that is comparable across states. Several states exhibited information seeking for PrEP and HIV testing that deviated from model assessments. Statewide search volume for PrEP information was affected by a state's decision to expand Medicaid coverage. Our research provides health officials with an innovative way to monitor statewide interest in PrEP and HIV testing using a metric for information-seeking that is comparable across states.
View details for DOI 10.1186/s12879-021-05907-0
View details for PubMedID 33632140
-
Suicide-Related Internet Searches During the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US.
JAMA network open
2021; 4 (1): e2034261
View details for DOI 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.34261
View details for PubMedID 33475749
-
Proportion of U.S. Clinics Offering LGBT-Tailored Mental Health Services Decreased Over Time: A Panel Study of the National Mental Health Services Survey.
Annals of LGBTQ public and population health
1800; 2 (3): 174-184
Abstract
Our objective was to characterize the proportion of U.S. mental health clinics that offered LGBT-tailored mental health services between 2014 and 2018. We used data from the National Mental Health Services Survey (NMHSS) to construct a mixed logistic model of availability of LGBT-tailored mental health services over time, by region (Northeast, South, Midwest and West), and by facility type (Veterans Administration, inpatient/residential, outpatient, community mental health centers and mixed). Our results show that the overall proportion of mental health clinics that offered LGBT-tailored services decreased from 2014 to 2018. Our results also indicate that Veteran Affairs clinics and facilities in the West and Northeast were most likely to offer LGBT-tailored mental health services. Given the temporal, regional, and facility gaps in LGBT-tailored mental health services availability, more effort should be dedicated to addressing this disparity.
View details for DOI 10.1891/lgbtq-2020-0071
View details for PubMedID 34901933
-
News coverage of the E-cigarette, or Vaping, product use Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) outbreak and internet searches for vaping cessation.
Tobacco control
2020
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In the latter half of 2019, an outbreak of pulmonary disease in the USA resulted in 2807 hospitalisations and 68 deaths, as of 18 February 2020. Given the severity of the outbreak, we assessed whether articles during the outbreak era more frequently warned about the dangers of vaping and whether internet searches for vaping cessation increased.METHODS: Using Tobacco Watcher, a media monitoring platform that automatically identifies and categorises news articles from sources across the globe, we obtained all articles that (a) discussed the outbreak and (b) primarily warned about the dangers of vaping. We obtained internet search trends originating from the USA that mentioned 'quit' or 'stop' and 'e cig(s),' 'ecig(s),' 'e-cig(s),' 'e cigarette(s),' 'e-cigarette(s),' 'electronic cigarette(s),' 'vape(s),' 'vaping' or 'vaper(s)' from Google Trends (eg, 'how do I quit vaping?'). All data were obtained from 1 January 2014 to 18 February 2020 and ARIMA models were used with historical trends to forecast the ratio of observed to expected search volumes during the outbreak era.RESULTS: News of the vaping-induced pulmonary disease outbreak was first reported on 25 July 2019 with 195 articles, culminating in 44512 articles by 18 February 2020. On average, news articles warning about the dangers of vaping were 130% (95% prediction interval (PI): -15 to 417) and searches for vaping cessation were 76% (95% PI: 28 to 182) higher than expected levels for the days during the period when the sources of the outbreak were unknown (25 July to 27 September 2019). News and searches stabilised just after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a primary source of the outbreak was an additive used in marijuana vapes on 27 September 2019. In sum, there were 12286 articles archived in Tobacco Watcher primarily warning about the dangers of vaping and 1025000 cessation searches following the outbreak.CONCLUSION: The vaping-induced pulmonary disease outbreak spawned increased coverage about the dangers of vaping and internet searches for vaping cessation. Resources and strategies that respond to this elevated interest should become a priority among public health leaders.
View details for DOI 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-055755
View details for PubMedID 33051278
-
Internet Searches for Unproven COVID-19 Therapies in the United States.
JAMA internal medicine
2020; 180 (8): 1116-1118
Abstract
This cross-sectional study examines internet searches indicative of shopping for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, including after high-profile endorsements.
View details for DOI 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.1764
View details for PubMedID 32347895
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7191468
-
Collateral Crises of Gun Preparation and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Infodemiology Study.
JMIR public health and surveillance
2020; 6 (2): e19369
Abstract
In the past, national emergencies in the United States have resulted in increased gun preparation (ie, purchasing new guns or removing guns from storage); in turn, these gun actions have effected increases in firearm injuries and deaths.The aim of this paper was to assess the extent to which interest in gun preparation has increased amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic using data from Google searches related to purchasing and cleaning guns.We fit an Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model over Google search data from January 2004 up to the week that US President Donald Trump declared COVID-19 a national emergency. We used this model to forecast Google search volumes, creating a counterfactual of the number of gun preparation searches we would expect if the COVID-19 pandemic had not occurred, and reported observed deviations from this counterfactual.Google searches related to preparing guns have surged to unprecedented levels, approximately 40% higher than previously reported spikes following the Sandy Hook, CT and Parkland, FL shootings and 158% (95% CI 73-270) greater than would be expected if the COVID-19 pandemic had not occurred. In absolute terms, approximately 2.1 million searches related to gun preparation were performed over just 34 days. States severely affected by COVID-19 appear to have some of the greatest increases in the number of searches.Our results corroborate media reports that gun purchases are increasing amid the COVID-19 pandemic and provide more precise geographic and temporal trends. Policy makers should invest in disseminating evidence-based educational tools about gun risks and safety procedures to avert a collateral public health crisis.
View details for DOI 10.2196/19369
View details for PubMedID 32437329
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7257475
-
Physical and Sexual Violence Among Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Questioning Adolescents.
JAMA pediatrics
2020
View details for DOI 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.6291
View details for PubMedID 32150233
-
The Medical Marijuana Industry and the Use of "Research as Marketing".
American journal of public health
2020; 110 (2): 174-175
View details for DOI 10.2105/AJPH.2019.305477
View details for PubMedID 31913671
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6951364
-
Responses to addiction help-seeking from Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, Cortana, and Bixby intelligent virtual assistants.
NPJ digital medicine
2020; 3: 11
Abstract
We investigated how intelligent virtual assistants (IVA), including Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, Microsoft's Cortana, and Samsung's Bixby, responded to addiction help-seeking queries. We recorded if IVAs provided a singular response and if so, did they link users to treatment or treatment referral services. Only 4 of the 70 help-seeking queries presented to the five IVAs returned singular responses, with the remainder prompting confusion (e.g., "did I say something wrong?"). When asked "help me quit drugs" Alexa responded with a definition for the word drugs. "Help me quitsmoking" or "tobacco" on Google Assistant returned Dr. QuitNow (a cessation app), while on Siri "help me quit pot" promoted a marijuana retailer. IVAs should be revised to promote free, remote, federally sponsored addiction services, such as SAMSHA's 1-800-662-HELP helpline. This would benefit millions of IVA users now and more to come as IVAs displace existing information-seeking engines.
View details for DOI 10.1038/s41746-019-0215-9
View details for PubMedID 32025572
-
Medical marijuana laws, substance use treatment admissions and the ecological fallacy.
Addiction (Abingdon, England)
2020; 115 (1): 188-189
View details for DOI 10.1111/add.14748
View details for PubMedID 31724211
-
Trends in Internet Searches for Cannabidiol (CBD) in the United States.
JAMA network open
2019; 2 (10): e1913853
View details for DOI 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.13853
View details for PubMedID 31642924
-
Medical marijuana, not miracle marijuana: some well-publicized studies about medical marijuana do not pass a reality check.
Addiction (Abingdon, England)
2019; 114 (6): 1128-1129
View details for DOI 10.1111/add.14580
View details for PubMedID 30746813
-
The Need for Federal Regulation of Marijuana Marketing.
JAMA
2019
View details for DOI 10.1001/jama.2019.4432
View details for PubMedID 31095243
-
Medical Cannabis Use.
Health affairs (Project Hope)
2019; 38 (5): 874
View details for DOI 10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00198
View details for PubMedID 31059362
-
Internet Searches for Sexual Harassment and Assault, Reporting, and Training Since the #MeToo Movement.
JAMA internal medicine
2019; 179 (2): 258-259
Abstract
This study analyzes US internet search numbers to evaluate changes in searches for sexual harassment and assault, reporting, and training since the #MeToo movement.
View details for DOI 10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.5094
View details for PubMedID 30575847
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6439643
-
Don't quote me: reverse identification of research participants in social media studies
NPJ DIGITAL MEDICINE
2018; 1
View details for DOI 10.1038/s41746-018-0036-2
View details for Web of Science ID 000444192900001
-
Substance Use Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Questioning Adolescents in the United States, 2015.
American journal of public health
2018; 108 (8): 1031-1034
Abstract
To provide current national estimates of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) adolescents' (grades 9-12) substance use risks.The 2015 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey included questions for 19 substance use outcomes covering 15 substances. LGBQ adolescents' substance use was described and their risk relative to heterosexual adolescents was estimated after controlling for sociodemographic confounders.In controlled analyses, we found that LGBQ adolescents were 1.12 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.06, 1.19) times as likely as heterosexual adolescents to report any lifetime and 1.27 (95% CI = 1.14, 1.41) times as likely to report past 30-day substance use. LGBQ adolescents were at significantly greater risk for all but 1 studied substance, including alcohol, cigarettes, cigars, cocaine, ecstasy, electronic vapor usage ("vaping"), hallucinogens, heroin, inhalants, marijuana, methamphetamine, prescription drugs (without physician direction), steroids, and synthetic marijuana.LGBQ adolescents are at substantially greater risk for substance use. Public Health Implications. Policymakers should invest in prevention and early intervention resources to address substance use risks among LGBQ adolescents.
View details for DOI 10.2105/AJPH.2018.304446
View details for PubMedID 29995487
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6050864
-
Medical Marijuana Users are More Likely to Use Prescription Drugs Medically and Nonmedically
JOURNAL OF ADDICTION MEDICINE
2018; 12 (4): 295-299
View details for DOI 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000405
View details for Web of Science ID 000448416100008
-
Sex and orientation identity matter in the substance use behaviors of sexual minority adolescents in the United States.
Drug and alcohol dependence
2018; 187: 142-148
Abstract
Health sciences researchers are beginning to understand the differing experiences and health risks among sexual minority subgroups (i.e., those who describe themselves as homosexual/gay/lesbian, bisexual, or unsure/questioning). Such research can promote the allocation of resources to high-risk groups and the development of interventions tailored to their needs. The present study extends this line of research to substance use among adolescents.The lifetime and/or past 30-day alcohol, tobacco, cigarette, e-cigarette, marijuana, prescription drug, and illicit drug use of sexual minority and heterosexual adolescents was analyzed using data from the 2015 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Controlling for confounders, separate logistic regression models were fit for each substance use outcome. A simulation-based strategy was employed to report adjusted risk ratios for each substance use outcome for each sexual minority subgroup.Sexual minority females, particularly bisexual females, were at an elevated risk for substance use. For example, compared to heterosexual females, sexual minority females were 1.35 (95%CI 1.16-1.56) times more likely to have used a substance in the past 30 days, and bisexual females had an even further elevated risk ratio (RR: 1.48, 95%CI 1.28-1.69).Studying the variance among sexual minority subgroups will help practitioners, advocates, and policymakers identify high risk subgroups. In the case of substance use, this study suggests sexual minority females, particularly bisexual females, should become a target population for prevention and other interventions. The study conducts post-hoc analyses on secondary data, and so these results should be verified in more targeted studies.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.01.012
View details for PubMedID 29665492
-
Google Searches for "Cheap Cigarettes" Spike at Tax Increases: Evidence from an Algorithm to Detect Spikes in Time Series Data.
Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco
2018; 20 (6): 779-783
Abstract
Online cigarette dealers have lower prices than brick-and-mortar retailers and advertise tax-free status.1-8 Previous studies show smokers search out these online alternatives at the time of a cigarette tax increase.9,10 However, these studies rely upon researchers' decision to consider a specific date and preclude the possibility that researchers focus on the wrong date. The purpose of this study is to introduce an unbiased methodology to the field of observing search patterns and to use this methodology to determine whether smokers search Google for "cheap cigarettes" at cigarette tax increases and, if so, whether the increased level of searches persists.Publicly available data from Google Trends is used to observe standardized search volumes for the term, "cheap cigarettes". Seasonal Hybrid Extreme Studentized Deviate and E-Divisive with Means tests were performed to observe spikes and mean level shifts in search volume.Of the twelve cigarette tax increases studied, ten showed spikes in searches for "cheap cigarettes" within two weeks of the tax increase. However, the mean level shifts did not occur for any cigarette tax increase.Searches for "cheap cigarettes" spike around the time of a cigarette tax increase, but the mean level of searches does not shift in response to a tax increase. The SHESD and EDM tests are unbiased methodologies that can be used to identify spikes and mean level shifts in time series data without an a priori date to be studied. SHESD and EDM affirm spikes in interest are related to tax increases.• Applies improved statistical techniques (SHESD and EDM) to Google search data related to cigarettes, reducing bias and increasing power • Contributes to the body of evidence that state and federal tax increases are associated with spikes in searches for cheap cigarettes and may be good dates for increased online health messaging related to tobacco.
View details for DOI 10.1093/ntr/ntx143
View details for PubMedID 28645212
-
Online Sales of Marijuana: An Unrecognized Public Health Dilemma
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE
2018; 54 (5): 719–21
View details for PubMedID 29576446
-
Population-Level Analyses Cannot Tell Us Anything About Individual-Level Marijuana-Opioid Substitution.
American journal of public health
2018; 108 (3): e12
View details for DOI 10.2105/AJPH.2017.304253
View details for PubMedID 29412729
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5803816
-
Next generation media monitoring: Global coverage of electronic nicotine delivery systems (electronic cigarettes) on Bing, Google and Twitter, 2013-2018.
PloS one
2018; 13 (11): e0205822
Abstract
News media monitoring is an important scientific tool. By treating news reporters as data collectors and their reports as qualitative accounts of a fast changing public health landscape, researchers can glean many valuable insights. Yet, there have been surprisingly few innovations in public health media monitoring, with nearly all studies relying on labor-intensive content analyses limited to a small number of media reports. We propose to advance this subfield by using scalable machine learning. In potentially the largest contemporary public health media monitoring study to date, we systematically characterize global news reports surrounding electronic cigarettes or electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) using natural language processing techniques. News reports including ENDS terms (e.g., "electronic cigarettes") from over 100,000 sources (all sources archived on Google News or Bing News, as well as all news articles shared on Twitter) were monitored for 1 January 2013 through 31 July 2018. The geographic and subject (e.g., prevalence, bans, quitting, warnings, marketing, prices, age, flavor and industry) foci of news articles, their popularity among readers who share news on social media, and the sentiment behind news articles were assessed algorithmically. Globally there were 86,872 ENDS news reports with coverage increasing from 8 (standard deviation [SD] = 8) stories per day in 2013 to 75 (SD = 56) stories per day during 2018. The focus of ENDS news spanned 148 nations, with the plurality focusing on the United States (34% of all news). Potentially overlooked hotspots of ENDS media activity included China, Egypt, Russia, Ukraine, and Paraguay. The most common subject was warnings about ENDS (18%), followed by bans on using ENDS (13%) and ENDS prices (9%). Flavor and age restrictions were the least covered news subjects (~1% each). Among different subject foci, reports on quitting cigarettes using ENDS had the highest probability of scoring in the top three deciles of popularity rankings. Moreover, ENDS news on quitting and prices had a more positive sentiment on average than news with other subject foci. Public health leaders can use these trends to stay abreast of how ENDS are portrayed in the media, and potentially how the public perceives ENDS. Because our analytical strategies are updated in near real time, we aim to make media monitoring part of standard practice to support evidence-based tobacco control in the future.
View details for PubMedID 30388126
-
Suicide Risk Behaviors Among Sexual Minority Adolescents in the United States, 2015.
JAMA
2017; 318 (23): 2349-2351
Abstract
This survey study estimates suicide risk behaviors of sexual minority adolescents using National Youth Risk Behavior Survey data from 2015.
View details for DOI 10.1001/jama.2017.16908
View details for PubMedID 29260214
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5820699
-
The Charlie Sheen Effect on Rapid In-home Human Immunodeficiency Virus Test Sales.
Prevention science
2017
Abstract
One in eight of the 1.2 million Americans living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are unaware of their positive status, and untested individuals are responsible for most new infections. As a result, testing is the most cost-effective HIV prevention strategy and must be accelerated when opportunities are presented. Web searches for HIV spiked around actor Charlie Sheen's HIV-positive disclosure. However, it is unknown whether Sheen's disclosure impacted offline behaviors like HIV testing. The goal of this study was to determine if Sheen's HIV disclosure was a record-setting HIV prevention event and determine if Web searches presage increases in testing allowing for rapid detection and reaction in the future. Sales of OraQuick rapid in-home HIV test kits in the USA were monitored weekly from April 12, 2014, to April 16, 2016, alongside Web searches including the terms "test," "tests," or "testing" and "HIV" as accessed from Google Trends. Changes in OraQuick sales around Sheen's disclosure and prediction models using Web searches were assessed. OraQuick sales rose 95% (95% CI, 75-117; p < 0.001) of the week of Sheen's disclosure and remained elevated for 4 more weeks (p < 0.05). In total, there were 8225 more sales than expected around Sheen's disclosure, surpassing World AIDS Day by a factor of about 7. Moreover, Web searches mirrored OraQuick sales trends (r = 0.79), demonstrating their ability to presage increases in testing. The "Charlie Sheen effect" represents an important opportunity for a public health response, and in the future, Web searches can be used to detect and act on more opportunities to foster prevention behaviors.
View details for DOI 10.1007/s11121-017-0792-2
View details for PubMedID 28516308
-
Response to Comment by Hecht & Miller-Day on "Truth and DARE: Is DARE's new Keepin' it REAL curriculum suitable for American nationwide implementation?"
DRUGS-EDUCATION PREVENTION AND POLICY
2017; 24 (2): 226
View details for DOI 10.1080/09687637.2017.1288681
View details for Web of Science ID 000395379700014
-
Truth and DARE: Is DARE's new Keepin' it REAL curriculum suitable for American nationwide implementation?
DRUGS-EDUCATION PREVENTION AND POLICY
2017; 24 (1): 49-57
View details for DOI 10.1080/09687637.2016.1208731
View details for Web of Science ID 000392731200008
-
They're heating up: Internet search query trends reveal significant public interest in heat-not-burn tobacco products.
PloS one
2017; 12 (10): e0185735
Abstract
Heat-not-burn tobacco products, battery powered devices that heat leaf tobacco to approximately 500 degrees Fahrenheit to produce an inhalable aerosol, are being introduced in markets around the world. Japan, where manufacturers have marketed several heat-not-burn brands since 2014, has been the focal national test market, with the intention of developing global marketing strategies. We used Google search query data to estimate, for the first time, the scale and growth potential of heat-not-burn tobacco products. Average monthly searches for heat-not-burn products rose 1,426% (95%CI: 746,3574) between their first (2015) and second (2016) complete years on the market and an additional 100% (95%CI: 60, 173) between the products second (2016) and third years on the market (Jan-Sep 2017). There are now between 5.9 and 7.5 million heat-not-burn related Google searches in Japan each month based on September 2017 estimates. Moreover, forecasts relying on the historical trends suggest heat-not-burn searches will increase an additional 32% (95%CI: -4 to 79) during 2018, compared to current estimates for 2017 (Jan-Sep), with continued growth thereafter expected. Contrasting heat-not-burn's rise in Japan to electronic cigarettes' rise in the United States we find searches for heat-not-burn eclipsed electronic cigarette searches during April 2016. Moreover, the change in average monthly queries for heat-not-burn in Japan between 2015 and 2017 was 399 (95% CI: 184, 1490) times larger than the change in average monthly queries for electronic cigarettes in the Unites States over the same time period, increasing by 2,956% (95% CI: 1729, 7304) compared to only 7% (95% CI: 3,13). Our findings are a clarion call for tobacco control leaders to ready themselves as heat-not-burn tobacco products will likely garner substantial interest as they are introduced into new markets. Public health practitioners should expand heat-not-burn tobacco product surveillance, adjust existing tobacco control strategies to account for heat-not-burn tobacco products, and preemptively study the health risks/benefits, popular perceptions, and health messaging around heat-not-burn tobacco products.
View details for PubMedID 29020019
-
Industry watch: heat-not-burn tobacco products are about to reach their boiling point
Tobacco Control
2017; 26 (5): 609-610
View details for DOI 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2016-053264
-
Whether medical marijuana is ever substituted for other substances is not the full story
Drug and Alcohol Review
2017; 36 (4): E3-E4
View details for DOI 10.1111/dar.12494
-
Assessing the Possibility of Leadership Education as Psychosocial-Based Problem Behavior Prevention for Adolescents: A Review of the Literature
Journal of Leadership Education
2017; 16 (1): 115-132
View details for DOI 10.12806/v16/i1/t2
-
Medicare Recipients' Use Of Medical Marijuana.
Health affairs (Project Hope)
2016; 35 (10): 1936
View details for DOI 10.1377/hlthaff.2016.1108
View details for PubMedID 27702976
-
Commentary on "New Perspectives on Drug Education/Prevention".
Journal of psychoactive drugs
2016; 48 (3): 227-9
View details for DOI 10.1080/02791072.2016.1197989
View details for PubMedID 27409291
-
The case for uniform controls in drug policy studies.
The International journal on drug policy
2016; 33: 102-4
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.drugpo.2016.06.005
View details for PubMedID 27371968
- Selling prevention: Using a business framework to analyze the state of prevention and overcome obstacles to expanding substance abuse prevention The Journal of Global Drug Policy and Practice 2015; 9 (1)