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9/26/2014  |   4:30 PM - 6:00 PM   |  

Bridging the awareness gap between CMV and Down syndrome

Only 13% of women are aware of cytomegalovirus (CMV). By contrast, the vast majority of women are aware of Down syndrome (DS). This gap in awareness has serious public health implications because CMV is more prevalent and preventable than DS. Our study explores the possible causes of the awareness gap between CMV and DS. We collected data from a variety of online sources using the search terms “Cytomegalovirus” and “Down syndrome.” For research effort, we examined the number of NIH projects funded, level of NIH funding, and number of PubMed citations. For web presence, we examined the number of mentions of each search term on the CDC website, WebMD, and various Google search engines. We also collected time series data on web search interest and publication count using Google Trends and PubMed, respectively. We used simple ratios to quantify relative difference. Our results revealed that research effort was greater for CMV than DS, with relative differences ranging from 1.9 to 2.7 in favor of CMV. In contrast, 6 of 7 measures of web presence were greater for DS than CMV; the CDC website was the only exception. Excluding the CDC, relative differences in web presence ranged from 1.3 to 133.8 in favor of DS. The largest difference in web presence was for videos. Time series plots revealed an increase in PubMed citations for both CMV and DS from 2004 to 2013. In contrast, web search interest in CMV has decreased over the past 10 years, while interest in DS has recently increased. The results of our study suggest that the awareness gap between CMV and DS may be driven primarily by differences in web presence rather than research effort, and that the gap is getting wider.

Seth Dobson (Primary Presenter), seth.dobson@gmail.com;
Seth Dobson received his PhD in biological anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis in 2006. He was assistant professor of anthropology at Dartmouth College from 2007 to 2014. Dr. Dobson is now a senior data analyst at Discover Financial Services.

ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial - No relevant financial relationship exist.

Nonfinancial - No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.

Kathleen Muldoon (Co-Presenter), kathleen.muldoon@gmail.com;
Kathleen Muldoon received her PhD in biological anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis in 2006. She was assistant professor of anatomy in the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth from 2007 to 2014. Dr. Muldoon will be assistant professor of anatomy at Midwestern University in Glendale, AZ starting July 1, 2014.

ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial - No relevant financial relationship exist.

Nonfinancial - No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.

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