Bringing public attention to disease into global health priority-setting

The study examined whether scientific research addresses diseases in alignment with their health burden and public attention. The research team analyzed data on publications, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and Wikipedia pageviews from 2016 to 2023 for 19 disease groups and 138 specific diseases. Results showed limited alignment between these three dimensions. Cardiovascular diseases account for the largest share of disease burden, mental disorders attract the most public attention, and neoplasms concentrate the largest share of research effort. Public attention and disease burden are only weakly correlated, indicating they represent distinct aspects of health needs. Analysis across different linguistic territories (German, Persian, Swahili, Vietnamese) revealed that patterns vary by region. The study concluded that public attention is an important complementary factor in determining global health priorities.