AcademyHealth, with support from The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, is funding health services research projects to understand the potential and challenges of using internet search data to improve diagnosis. The goal of this study is to understand the degree to which internet search information influences readiness to change for consumers with problematic alcohol use, resulting in the receipt of a formal alcohol use disorder (AUD) diagnosis from a provider and engagement in AUD treatment, an understudied topic. The study aims to develop a patient-centered model of behavior change resulting from the use of internet search data for AUD diagnosis and treatment engagement. The researchers will concentrate on two key areas: (1) a mental health condition, AUD, and (2) the introduction of innovative analytics to study this condition using Google Takeout and University of Texas (UT) Physicians electronic health record (EHR) data. The results will fill an important gap by integrating patient internet searches and clinical data using a conceptual model and patient-reported information obtained through focus groups. The project will use natural language processing (NLP) and network analysis methods to extract and structure AUD-related free-text data. The results will have implications for reducing the AUD treatment gap by providing evidence of what type of online health information helps move consumers through the alcohol change process. Deliverables will include a project work plan, narrative and financial reports, and a range of products to reach health services researchers, funders, clinicians and other audiences with study findings.

Principal Investigator(s)

Jane Hamilton
Committee Member, Member, Researcher

Jane Hamilton, Ph.D., M.P.H., L.C.S.W.-S.

Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - UTHealth Houston McGovern Medical School

Jane Hamilton, Ph.D., M.P.H., L.C.S.W.-S. is an associate professor in the Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department o... Read Bio