Currently submitted to: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Jul 11, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Aug 6, 2026 - Oct 1, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Temporal Trends in Public Online Attention to Labor Analgesia — Based on Baidu Index Data
ABSTRACT
Background:
In 2018, China launched a national pilot project for epidural labor analgesia to standardize obstetric pain relief services and advance humanized childbirth care. Online search data objectively reflect public health attention and are widely used to assess the impact of health policies. This study aimed to analyze temporal trends in public online attention to labor analgesia before and after the policy launch, thereby exploring the policy's influence on public awareness.
Objective:
We aimed to examine how national labor analgesia policy altered public online search interest using Baidu Index and interrupted time series analysis.
Methods:
Monthly Baidu Index data related to epidural labor analgesia from January 2017 to December 2018 were retrospectively collected. Since the Baidu Index provides only weekly aggregated data, a proportional splitting method was applied to cross-month weekly values. Time-series graphs and descriptive statistics were used to characterize temporal fluctuations in public attention. Interrupted time series (ITS) segmented regression with first-order autoregressive (AR1) error correction was further performed to quantitatively estimate the net instantaneous and long-term policy effects on monthly search volume, with unadjusted generalized linear model (GLM) as sensitivity analysis.
Results:
Public online attention to epidural labor analgesia exhibited distinct phased fluctuations. The average monthly Baidu Index in 2017 (pre-policy baseline) was 12,292.67. A prominent peak of 27,218 occurred in September 2017, indicating growing public interest prior to the official policy release. After the national pilot policy was launched in January 2018, public attention remained at a relatively high level throughout the year, with an annual average of 9,908.25. A secondary peak of 15,239 was observed in December 2018. ITS regression with AR (1) correction detected no statistically significant instantaneous or long-term policy-related shifts in search volume.
Conclusions:
The 2018 national pilot policy effectively sustained public online attention to epidural labor analgesia and transformed pre-policy enthusiasm into steady long-term concern. Pre-policy media coverage also contributed to a notable rise in public interest. Long-term standardized online health education is required to maintain public awareness and promote the clinical popularization of labor analgesia in China.
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