COVID-19: The transcendence of the scientific information generated by the WHO and its dissemination in a Cuban scientific institution's ecosystem
Keywords:
COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, World Health Organization, WHO, Ecosystem, Natural language processing, Epidemiological monitoring, CubaAbstract
Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pedro Kourí Tropical Medicine Institute processed information generated by the World Health Organization to produce systematic updates for experts and decision makers.
Objective: Evaluate the impact of updates to information generated by the WHO during the COVID-19 pandemic on the Pedro Kourí Tropical Medicine Institute’s ecosystem and its determining factors, as part of the institution's knowledge management.
Methods: From February 2020 to June 2022, a retrospective, descriptive and analytical study was conducted to evaluate the reliability, relevance, and sufficiency of the updates. This evaluation was based on sampling, re-evaluation, web-based research, and consultations with experts via questionnaires. Natural language processing was introduced to quantify lexemes with cognitive value, classify them into thematic areas (e.g., clinical, diagnosis, vaccines, viral variants, etc.), and assess their evolution over time.
Results: A total of 713 documents were processed, resulting in 217 reports. The update frequency changed from 2.2 times per week in 2020 to once per week in 2022. There were no inconsistencies or omissions between the disseminated information and its original web sources. Experts positively assessed the fulfillment of informational requirements. Natural language processing identified 267 gnoseological lexemes with low relative frequencies and concentrated in the last quartile (6.8, 6.2 and 7.1 per 1000, in 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively). Their categorization by area revealed their temporal evolution. Thus, clinical-epidemiological content predominated in 2020 (>50%), while the virus topic represented 55.8% in 2022, reflecting its predominance without losing comprehensiveness.
Conclusions: The updates were reliable, relevant, and sufficient, offering a concise and dynamic overview of global scientific developments. Natural language processing enabled innovative analyses that evidenced the thematic evolution and coherence of the disseminated content. These tools strengthened Pedro Kourí Tropical Medicine Institute’s knowledge ecosystem, which was essential for managing the pandemic. Integrating classical methodologies with computational techniques proved effective in optimizing information transfer in healthcare contexts.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Suset Isabel Oropesa Fernández, María Guadalupe Guzmán Tirado, Vivian Kourí Cardellá, Sonia Resik Aguirre, Pedro Mas Bermejo, Francisco Durán García, Juan Carlos Millán Marcelo, Marta Castro Peraza, Jorge Fraga Nodarse, Madelyn García Martínez, Ana Beatriz Pérez Díaz, Beatriz Sierra Vázquez, Licel Rodríguez Lay, Daniel González Rubio, Osvaldo Castro Peraza, Alfonso Ali Herrera, Isabel Martínez Motas, Yosiel Molina Gómez
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