TY - JOUR

T1 - The usefulness of YouTube videos as a source of information in asthma

AU - Diers, Caroline Skovsgaard

AU - Remvig, Celine

AU - Meteran, Hanieh

AU - Thomsen, Simon Francis

AU - Sigsgaard, Torben

AU - Hoj, Simon

AU - Meteran, Howraman

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Background Patient education is a key element in the management of asthma. Aims This study aimed to evaluate the popularity and usefulness of YouTube videos on asthma. Methods Two authors screened and evaluated the 200 most popular videos. Data on likes, dislikes, views, comment, source of uploader, days since upload, and usefulness were recorded and included for analyses. The usefulness of the videos was categorized as follows: useful, misleading, or neutral. Misleading videos provided at least one scientifically incorrect detail, whereas useful videos contained scientifically correct information. Results A total of 130 videos were included, and the total number of views was 100,290,242 with a total duration of 29 h and 8 min. While 26.6% of videos were uploaded by TV shows and YouTube channels, only 7.7% were uploaded by lung specialists. 65.4% of the videos contained scientifically correct information, whereas 18.5% contained misleading information. Although videos from medical professionals had a higher quality than videos from YouTube channels and TV shows, the latter were more popular. Misleading videos had numerically, but not statistically significant higher views compared with useful videos. Conclusions YouTube videos on asthma are popular in terms of viewer interaction, and the popularity is not restricted to videos uploaded by professional sources. Although more than half of the videos were found to be useful, a non-negligible proportion of videos were assessed as misleading. The usefulness of YouTube videos on asthma is variable and initiatives should be taken to increase the potential of YouTube as an useful source in patient education.

AB - Background Patient education is a key element in the management of asthma. Aims This study aimed to evaluate the popularity and usefulness of YouTube videos on asthma. Methods Two authors screened and evaluated the 200 most popular videos. Data on likes, dislikes, views, comment, source of uploader, days since upload, and usefulness were recorded and included for analyses. The usefulness of the videos was categorized as follows: useful, misleading, or neutral. Misleading videos provided at least one scientifically incorrect detail, whereas useful videos contained scientifically correct information. Results A total of 130 videos were included, and the total number of views was 100,290,242 with a total duration of 29 h and 8 min. While 26.6% of videos were uploaded by TV shows and YouTube channels, only 7.7% were uploaded by lung specialists. 65.4% of the videos contained scientifically correct information, whereas 18.5% contained misleading information. Although videos from medical professionals had a higher quality than videos from YouTube channels and TV shows, the latter were more popular. Misleading videos had numerically, but not statistically significant higher views compared with useful videos. Conclusions YouTube videos on asthma are popular in terms of viewer interaction, and the popularity is not restricted to videos uploaded by professional sources. Although more than half of the videos were found to be useful, a non-negligible proportion of videos were assessed as misleading. The usefulness of YouTube videos on asthma is variable and initiatives should be taken to increase the potential of YouTube as an useful source in patient education.

KW - YouTube

KW - digital health

KW - patient education

KW - asthma

KW - allergy

KW - PATIENT EDUCATION

KW - QUALITY

U2 - 10.1080/02770903.2022.2093218

DO - 10.1080/02770903.2022.2093218

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 35837808

VL - 60

SP - 737

EP - 743

JO - Journal of Asthma

JF - Journal of Asthma

SN - 0277-0903

IS - 4

ER -