Information circulation among Spanish-speaking and Caribbean communities related to COVID-19: A social media-based multidimensional analysis.

Abstract

Scientific research from North America and Europe tends to predominate the Internet, and benefits English-speaking users. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 death rate was high at the onset of the pandemic in Spanish-speaking countries, and information on nearby Caribbean countries was rarely highlighted. Given the rise in social media usage in these regions, the online dissemination of scientific information related to COVID-19 must be thoroughly examined. This study aimed to provide a multidimensional analysis of peer-reviewed information circulation related to COVID-19 in Spanish-speaking and Caribbean regions. COVID-19-related peer-reviewed resources shared by online accounts located in Spanish-speaking and Caribbean regions were identified through the altmetric website, and their information was collected. A multidimensional model was employed to examine these resources, considering time, individuality, place, activity, and relations. Time was operationalized as the six dates of data collection, individuality as the knowledge area and accessibility level, place as the publication venue and affiliation countries, activity as the altmetric score and number of mentions in the selected regions, and relations as co-authorship between countries and types of social media users who disseminated COVID-19 related information. The highest information circulation peaks in Spanish-speaking countries were from April to August 2020 and December 2020 to April 2021, whereas the highest peaks in Caribbean regions were from December 2019 to April 2020. As for Spanish-speaking regions, at the onset of the pandemic, scientific expertise was concentrated on a few peer-reviewed sources written in English. The top scientific journals mentioned were from Anglo-speaking westernized regions, whereas the top scientific authorships were from China. The most mentioned scientific resources were about breakthrough findings in the Medical and Health Sciences written in highly technical language. The top relationships were self-loops in China, while international collaborations were between China and the U.S. Argentina had high closeness and betweenness, and Spain had high closeness. Based on social media data, a combination of media outlets, educational institutions, and expert associations, particularly from Panama, influenced the diffusion of peer-reviewed information. We determined the diffusion patterns of peer-reviewed resources in Spanish-speaking countries and Caribbean territories. This study aims to advance the management and analysis of online public data from People of Color to improve public health communication in their regions. Non-Applicable.