The Charlie Sheen effect: Actor's HIV revelation was 'earth shaking event for disease prevention' sparking record number of internet searches

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Charlie Sheen's disclosure that he is HIV positive was an 'earth shaking event for HIV prevention' experts have said

Charlie Sheen's admission that he is HIV positive sparked a record rise in the number of people researching the disease online.

The actor revealed to the world his diagnosis on November 17 last year, on NBC's Today Show.

It has long been assumed that celebrities play an important role in public health.

And so a team of scientists at San Diego State University set out to investigate the issue.

Their findings reveal record levels of news coverage of HIV and Google searches for information about HIV and HIV prevention in the wake of Sheen's disclosure.

Professor John Ayers, who led the study, said: 'Charlie Sheen's disclosure was a potential earth shaking event for HIV prevention in the United States.' 

The team relied on public archives for news media trends using the Bloomberg Terminal and Google Trends to describe HIV and HIV prevention engagement since 2004.

Focusing on the hours after Sheen's disclosure, the team monitored news reports mentioning HIV and Google searches originating from the United States broken into four categories: 

• HIV - all searches with 'HIV'
• condoms - all searches with 'condom' or 'condoms'
• HIV symptomology - all searches with 'symptom,' 'symptoms' or 'signs of' and 'HIV'
• HIV testing - all searches with 'test,' 'tests,' or 'testing' and 'HIV' 

Research scientists Benjamin Althouse, of the Institute for Disease Modeling and the Santa Fe Institute, said: 'This big data strategy allowed us to provide a formative assessment of the potential impacts of Charlie Sheen's HIV-positive disclosure at no cost.

'We can directly assess the diffusion of media in the population and how the population is seeking out information based on the timing and content of their Google searches.' 

The day of Sheen's disclosure coincided with a 265 per cent increase in news reports mentioning HIV - 97 per cent of which also mentioned the actor - via Bloomberg Terminal.

An additional 6,500 stories were reported on Google News alone.

This placed Sheen's disclosure among the top one per cent of historic HIV-related media events. 

The actor's disclosure also corresponded with the greatest number of HIV-related Google searches ever recorded in the US on a single day. 

The actor revealed in November that he is living with the disease, illustrated. His admission sparked a record surge in online searches relating to HIV, prevention, tests and symptoms, scientists at San Diego State University found

About 2.75 million more Google searches than expected, based on previous trends, included the term HIV on the day of Sheen's disclosure, with 1.25 million more searches than expected including terms for condoms, HIV symptoms, or HIV testing; after adjusting for changes in overall search volume and historic trends.

In relative terms, all HIV searches were 417 per cent higher than expected the day of Sheen's disclosure. 

Condom searches (such as 'buy condoms') increased 75 per cent.

About 2.75 million more Google searches for HIV were recorded, than would be expected on a normal day - all HIV searches were 417 per cent higher on the day of Sheen's disclosure

HIV symptom (such as 'signs of HIV') and HIV testing (such as 'find HIV testing') searches increased 540 and 214 per cent, respectively, the day of Sheen's disclosure and remained higher for three days. 

Professor Ayers said: 'While no one should be forced to reveal their HIV status and all diagnoses are tragic, Sheen's disclosure may benefit public health by potentially helping many learn more about HIV and HIV prevention.'

This potential comes on the heels of historic declines in domestic HIV awareness and prevention. 

Just two weeks before Sheen's disclosure Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, publicly bemoaned the state of domestic HIV control. 

Of the more than 1.2 million people in the United States living with HIV, nearly one in eight are unaware of their HIV-positive status.

Professor Seth Noar, of the University of North Carolina and an expert in HIV prevention media campaigns, and co-author of the study, said: 'Sheen's disclosure could be an important event to immediately raise public consciousness around HIV, and make public health messages about HIV that much more salient.'

'Celebrity disclosures are not new to HIV, with Rock Hudson and Magic Johnson serving as noteworthy examples. Yet, Sheen's disclosure could be different,' said Eric Leas, a student of health communication at the University of California San Diego and study coauthor. 'The Web 2.0 era may heighten the impact of Sheen.

'With Sheen, unlike with Magic Johnson for instance, we have smartphones in our pockets that we can easily use to learn about HIV within seconds with a single search or click.

'At the same time, social media can expand the effect of Sheen's disclosure beyond the initial television broadcast as networks form around celebrities.'

Professor Ayers added: 'Sadly, the public health community may be missing the mark.

'I'm unaware of any major HIV educational campaigns that are using Sheen's disclosure for public health outreach.

Experts said while no one should be forced to reveal their HIV status and all diagnoses are tragic, the Two And A Half Men actor's admission may benefit public health by potentially helping many learn more about HIV and HIV prevention

'Sheen is a controversial figure and it's incredibly hard to frame public health messages around a figure whose behavior, not unlike any non-celebrity or myself, may at times conflict with public health science.' 

Controversy itself merits additional study to stay ahead of public debate, according to Mark Dredze, research scientist with Bloomberg LP, assistant research professor at Johns Hopkins University, and study coauthor. 

'Public health can use and expand our approach to further monitor HIV-related trends and be responsive to these changes in near real-time.'

Still, the team notes that Sheen's disclosure has already produced tremendous public health benefits. 'More must be done to make the Charlie Sheen effect larger and lasting,' Professor Ayers concluded.

The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).