Using visualization technique to communicate the conceptual structure of SARS-CoV-2 to multidisciplinary audience and lessons from the pandemic for future preparedness

ABSTRACT

Several publications on the concept and structure of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 over the past three years target medical and biomedical scientists, and rightly so, as experts in search of solutions made efforts to understand the molecular structure of the coronavirus. The multidisciplinary audience who needs help understanding the scientific discourse and the complexity of SARS-CoV-2 is left to guess in the dark. Studies show that a lack of proper understanding of the pandemic can have several consequences, including accepting conspiracy theories, misinformation, negative attitudes against public health safety measures, and the COVID-19 vaccine hesitation. This study uses metadata extracted from published documents on the concepts and structure of COVID-19 indexed on the Web of Science between 2020 to 2021 to create an abstract visual metaphor about the pandemic. Based on the cognitive connection theory, we develop a model and visualization that explains the conceptual structure of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 for the non-biomedical multidisciplinary audience. The visual analytics highlights the concepts, characteristics, and interrelationships on a network map, connecting some past viral/coronavirus pandemics and epidemics, particularly H1N1, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV. The conceptual model and visualization generate insight and understanding of the ongoing pandemic for multidisciplinary audiences.

KEYWORDS:

• Visual analytics
• visualization
• misinformation
• pandemic
• COVID-19 vaccine hesitation
• SARS-CoV-2
• non-biomedical multidisciplinary audiences
• conceptual model

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Ikpe Justice Akpan

Ikpe Justice Akpan, Ph.D., is a Professor of Information Systems and Business Analytics at Kent State University, Ohio, USA. He holds a Ph.D. from Lancaster University, UK, specializing in computer simulation and virtual reality. His research interests include healthcare/medical informatics, family science, and business analytics. Others include information systems, computer simulations and applications, and virtual reality. He was appointed a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Management Information Systems at Shanghai International University, Shanghai, China, 2016. He has taught at several Universities in different countries, including the USA, Canada, and the UK.

Denise M. McEnroe-Petitte

Denise M. McEnroe-Petitte, RN, BSN, AS, MSN, Ph.D. Professor of Nursing Technology, Department of Nursing, Kent State University at Tuscarawas, New Philadelphia, OH 44663, USA.

Obianuju Genevieve Aguolu

Obianuju Genevieve Aguolu, MBBS, MPH, Ph.D. Post Doctoral Researcher, Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Department, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Visiting Assistant Professor, Oberlin College, Ohio, USA.

Yawo Kobara

Yawo M. Kobara, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Operation Management and Statistics at the Odette School of Business, University of Windsor. He holds a doctorate from Western University, ON, London, Canada, specializing in statistics and healthcare system analytics. Recently, he worked as a Post-doctoral Researcher at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. His research interests include analytics, healthcare service management optimization, stochastic processes, and queueing theory applications.

Izuchukwu C. Ezeume

Izuchukwu C. Ezeume holds a Higher National Diploma in Computer Science from Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Computer and Electronic Engineering at the Lagos State University, Epe, Lagos, Nigeria. He is an Information Systems Professional, Minister of Religion, and a board member of the Ibom International Center for Research and Scholarship and Children in Divorce Foundation. He undertakes research that addresses technologies, social, and family issues.