Diásporas, racismo y comunicación en tiempos de crisis sanitaria: un enfoque cualitativo

Abstract

This chapter focuses how Chinese diaspora activists and influencers from the Chinese community in Spain fought the racism and xenophobia provoked by the coronavirus towards Chinese and Asian communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, which forms a part of a larger research project. Taking the example of Paloma Chen, a Spanish-born activist of Chinese origin, this study explores the potential of citizen participation when coping with public health crises. Theoretically, this study analyze her communication strategy from a participatory perspective, grounded in the theories of health communication and entertainment education (EE) strategy. Methodologically, the study employed case study combined with digital ethnography, raising questions about the communication strategies, prominent themes, and discourse characteristics of Paoloma Chen. The findings suggest that the personal background, experiences and shared cultural identity significantly influence her public discourse, shaping the themes she emphasizes when communicating the CODVID-19 pandemic and the way she adopts EE strategy. The study concludes that participatory strategies with citizens as an active role has the potential to engage audiences and promote citizen participation, offering a sustainable model for health communication and crisis response during a public health emergency of International concern.