Palabras clave
Internet
COVID-19
Exposición a los Medios
Comunicación en Salud
Cómo citar
Resumen
Introducción: La fase temprana de la pandemia de COVID-19 detonó una cobertura mediática sin precedentes y búsquedas en Internet sobre posibles tratamientos. Objetivo: Este estudio analizó el volumen diario de búsqueda (VDB) en países de América Latina a propósito de tratamientos no probados para la atención ambulatoria de pacientes con COVID-19. Metodologia: Se utilizó el motor de búsqueda Google Trends para obtener los datos de VDB correspondientes a azitromicina, colchicina, dióxido de cloro, dexametasona, hidroxicloroquina e ivermectina, al ser buscados junto con un “término relacionado con COVID-19” durante el primer año de la pandemia. Se compararon los picos de VDB alto (≥75) para cada tratamiento entre los 10 países hispanohablantes y se correlacionaron por fecha con publicaciones de noticias en medios en línea. Se realizó un estudio de caso centrado en México. Resultados: Venezuela fue el país con mayor número de días (n=27) con VDB alto en la suma de los seis tratamientos, seguido por México (n=22). La azitromicina (n=41) y la dexametasona (n=24) presentaron el mayor número de días con VDB alto en general. Las fechas de los picos de VDB alto en más de tres países coincidieron con la cobertura mediática de ensayos clínicos y otras comunicaciones sobre tratamientos. Los aumentos de VDB alto por tratamiento coincidieron con hitos de los casos de COVID-19 en México en comparación con la línea base. Conclusiones: Los hallazgos muestran que el monitoreo de los medios digitales es relevante para comprender los intereses y las preocupaciones de la población, la posible demanda de tratamientos no comprobados, y para facilitar la promoción de la salud y la comunicación de riesgo oportuna y apropiada.
Citas
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Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución 4.0.
Derechos de autor 2026 Jennifer Hegewisch-Taylor, Anahi Dreser-Mansilla, Gabriel Millan-Garduño, Veronika Wirtz J., Lucila I. Castro-Pastrana, Andrea Anaya-Sanchez , Isaac Rico-Cuevas , Pilar Torres-Pereda