Iran Medical Council Journal of Iranian Medical Council 2645-338X 9 3 2026 07 01 Forecasting Lice Infestation Trends in Iran: Impact of COVID-19 and Future Projections 776 780 245116 10.18502/jimc.v9i3.21839 EN Reza Jafarzadeh Esfehani Blood Borne Infections Research Center, Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research (ACECR), Razavi Khorasan Branch, Mashhad, Iran Mohammad Hassan Aelami Infection Control & Hand Hygiene Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Journal Article 2025 07 04 <strong>Background:</strong> Lice infestation is a global public health issue, particularly among children, with the COVID-19 pandemic potentially altering its trends. This study assessed the pandemic’s impact on lice-related search activity in Iran and forecasted future trends using Google Trends data. <br><strong>Methods:</strong> While Google Trends has been used for other health conditions, this is the first study to apply this methodology to lice-related searches in Iran, capturing unique regional pandemic impacts. <br><strong>Results:</strong> Analyzing Persian search terms (2014–2024), a time-series analysis compared unadjusted and seasonally adjusted models. The seasonally adjusted model outperformed the unadjusted one, with higher stationary R-squared (0.846 vs. 0.669), lower MAPE (1.624 vs. 9.189), and reduced BIC (0.032 vs. 3.676). It predicted a 7.7% increase in lice-related searches from November 2024 to November 2026. <br><strong>Conclusion:</strong> These findings support using digital data for lice surveillance and underscore the need for context-specific public health strategies. https://www.jimc.ir/article_245116_5603ad817a03ded173b919c6c08ec18b.pdf