Pursuing insights about healthcare utilization via geocoded search queries

Abstract

Mobile devices provide people with a conduit to the rich infor-mation resources of the Web. With consent, the devices can also provide streams of information about search activity and location that can be used in population studies and real-time assistance. We analyzed geotagged mobile queries in a privacy-sensitive study of potential transitions from health information search to in-world healthcare utilization. We note differences in people's health infor-mation seeking before, during, and after the appearance of evidence that a medical facility has been visited. We find that we can accu-rately estimate statistics about such potential user engagement with healthcare providers. The findings highlight the promise of using geocoded search for sensing and predicting activities in the world.