Redes sociales y el interés por la información oficial en tiempos de pandemia: análisis de la comunicación de los ministerios de salud europeos en Facebook durante la COVID-19

Javier Abuín-Penas; Rocío  Abuín-Penas

doi:10.35669/rcys.2022.12.e303

Authors

Javier Abuín-Penas Universidade de Vigo
Rocío Abuín-Penas Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35669/rcys.2022.12.e303

Keywords:

Crisis communication, institutional communication, social media, Facebook, COVID-19, coronavirus

Abstract

During a public health crisis like the current COVID-19 pandemic, governments and health authorities need quick and accurate methods to communicate with citizens. While social media can serve as a useful tool for effective communication during disease outbreaks, few studies have addressed how Ministries of Health use these platforms. This study will seek to explore the use of Facebook by the Ministries of Health of the most populated countries of the European Union and the public response in terms of interaction and monitoring during the different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the Year 2020. We have worked with all the publications made by the 10 most populated countries of the European Union in 2020, using the Crowdtangle tool to generate the database. The results show the agility that these countries have had to respond to the communication demanded by citizens during exceptional situations such as the pandemic generated by the coronavirus and also the great increase in the monitoring of official health sources by the population. Thus, this research provides some first indications about the communication strategy followed by the main Ministries of Health in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic. These results have implications for researchers, governments, health organizations, and professionals regarding their communication practices during pandemics.

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Author Biographies

Javier Abuín-Penas, Universidade de Vigo

Doctor en Creatividad e Innovación Social y Sostenible por la Universidad de Vigo (2020). Actualmente forma parte del departamento X14 “Comunicación audiovisual y publicidad” de la Universidad de Vigo, donde investiga e imparte docencia. Sus principales líneas de investigación son las redes sociales, la desinformación y la comunicación en el deporte. Ha realizado estancias de investigación en universidades de referencia mundial como la University of Michigan y desde julio de 2020 es investigador a cargo de un contrato posdoctoral financiado por la Xunta de Galicia.

Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7822-7526

Gopgle Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bn4UxHIAAAAJyhl=es

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Javier-Abuin-Penas

Rocío Abuín-Penas, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela

Graduada en Enfermería por la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (2018). Actualmente forma parte de la unidad de Medicina Interna como personal sanitario del Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti. Trabaja como enfermera generalista con experiencia en urgencias. Sus intereses de investigación se centran en la relación enfermera-paciente, la atención al paciente y las técnicas comunicativas empleadas en el área de la sanidad.

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