Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China.
Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Front Public Health. 2023 Jan 26;11:1038198. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1038198. eCollection 2023.
Based on the outbreak of COVID-19, this paper empirically studied the impact of internet penetration on the incidence of class A and B infectious diseases among regions in spatial Dubin model, by using health panel data from 31 provinces in China from 2009 to 2018. The findings showed that: (1) The regional spillover effect of incidence of class A and B infectious diseases was significantly positive, and that is most obvious in the central regions. (2) Internet penetration not only has a positive effect on curbing the spread of infectious diseases within the local region but also help to inhibits the proximity spread of infectious diseases in neighborhood, showing the synergistic effect of "neighbor as a partner" in joint prevention and control mechanism. (3) The "digital gap" between regions, urban and rural areas, and user structures had led to significant group differences in the effect of the Internet on suppressing the spread of Class A and B infectious diseases. The findings of this paper provide a reference for understanding the potential role of the Internet in the COVID-19 and also provide policy support for the construction of Internet-based inter-regional "joint prevention and control mechanism" in public health events.
基于 COVID-19 的爆发，本文在空间 Dubin 模型中通过实证研究了互联网普及率对地区 A 类和 B 类传染病发病率的影响，使用了 2009 年至 2018 年中国 31 个省的健康面板数据。研究结果表明：（1）A 类和 B 类传染病发病率的区域溢出效应呈显著正相关，在中部地区最为明显。（2）互联网普及率不仅对抑制当地传染病的传播有积极作用，而且有助于抑制邻近地区传染病的近距离传播，表现出联合防控机制中“邻里为合作伙伴”的协同效应。（3）地区之间、城乡之间以及用户结构的“数字鸿沟”导致互联网对抑制 A 类和 B 类传染病传播的效果存在显著的群体差异。本文的研究结果为理解互联网在 COVID-19 中的潜在作用提供了参考，也为公共卫生事件中基于互联网的区域“联合防控机制”建设提供了政策支持。
