title: Celebrity disclosures and information seeking: the case of Angelina Jolie.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  On 14 May 2013, actress Angelina Jolie disclosed that she had a BRCA1 mutation and underwent a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy. This study documents the impact of her disclosure on information-seeking behavior, specifically that regarding online genetics and risk reduction resources available from the National Cancer Institute.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using Adobe Analytics, daily page views for 11 resources were tracked from 23 April 2013 through 25 June 2013. Usage data were also obtained for four resources over a 2-year period (2012-2013). Source of referral that viewers used to locate a specific resource was also examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a dramatic and immediate increase in traffic to the National Cancer Institute's online resources. The Preventive Mastectomy fact sheet received 69,225 page views on May 14, representing a 795-fold increase as compared with the previous Tuesday. A fivefold increase in page views was observed for the PDQ Genetics of Breast and Ovarian Cancer summary in the same time frame. A substantial increase, from 0 to 49%, was seen in referrals from news outlets to four resources from 7 May to 14 May.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Celebrity disclosures can dramatically influence online information-seeking behaviors. Efforts to capitalize on these disclosures to ensure easy access to accurate information are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Office of Communications and Education, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Robin H
authors.identifier: 0000000193603916
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Juthe
authors.affiliation: iDoxSolutions, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Amber
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zaharchuk
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Catharine
authors.identifier: 0000000185842781
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control; D030881:Disclosure; D005197:Famous Persons; D005260:Female; D019398:Genes, BRCA1; D024522:Genes, BRCA2; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D008408:Mastectomy; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control