Bibliometric Analysis on Utilization of New Information Technology in the Prevention and Control of COVID-19 — China, 2020

Abstract

Introduction: New information technology (IT) has been applied to prevent and control coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in many regions of China since the outbreak of COVID-19. This study aims to illustrate the current status and key areas of the application of new IT in the prevention and control of COVID-19. Methods: Literature related to the prevention and control of COVID-19 with new IT since 2020 was retrieved from China National Knowledge Internet and Wanfang Literature databases, the two most authoritative databases in China. CiteSpace 5.7.R2 was used to analyze the institutions, authors, and keywords of the articles. The application of new IT is determined by keywords and highly cited documents. Results: A total of 1,711 articles were included, as the number of publications has been continually increasing over the investigation period. The six hot topics of new IT applied in COVID-19 were big data, artificial intelligence, Internet+, blockchain, Internet of Things, and 5G. The most productive institution is University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the most productive author in this field is Tao Pei, whose article, “Multi-level Spatial Distribution Estimation Model of the Inter-Regional Migrant Population Using Multi-Source Spatio-Temporal Big Data: A Case Study of Migrants from Wuhan During the Spread of COVID-19,” was highly cited. Discussion: This study could help medical professionals understand the application status and research trends of new IT in the prevention and control of COVID-19. This paper also helps researchers find potential co-operative institutions and partners.