Instagram Use and Equity in Public Health: A Study on Brazil and Portugal During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Background: There are few studies on the use of Instagram during the COVID-19 pandemic in low-income countries, even though Instagram is considered a tool to fight COVID-19. Analysis: This work applies both an exploratory approach and content analysis to study the Instagram profiles of Portugal’s National Health Service and Brazil’s Ministry of Health, as well as of citizens of these two countries, during the COVID-19 pandemic. 1,633 posts from these health authorities were analyzed. In addition, netnography methodology was applied to the analysis of a total of 48,691 posts. Conclusions: Citizens and sanitary authorities used Instagram as a space to discuss the pandemic. Citizens emphasized feelings and opinions through photos. For their part, authorities adopted the platform as an official communication channel, with limitations regarding the equity of their content.