Evaluation of the quality, reliability and content of YouTube™ videos related to the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

O. Yapici, E.A. Akman

Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Department of Public Health, Balikesir University Hospital, Balikesir, Turkey. yapicio@hotmail.com

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• Infectious Diseases

OBJECTIVE: The production, use, and sharing of information in health-related fields are increasing at an exponential rate in this age. Because they are so common today, social media platforms have a big impact on people’s opinions, habits, and decisions.

With this study, we aimed at testing the content, reliability, and quality of the videos about CCHF disease published on YouTube™ for patients and healthcare professionals, which people use for obtaining information.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The data of this study were obtained by searching on YouTube™ on January 1, 2022, using the keywords “Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever”. Google Trends was used to identify the most common search terms for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. Video reliability was evaluated by using the DISCERN tool and Global Quality Scale (GQS) was performed to evaluate video quality.

RESULTS: After the exclusion criteria, 75 videos were reviewed. Videos for healthcare professionals were more sufficient than videos for patients (p=0.004). DISCERN and GQS scores were higher in sufficient videos than in partially sufficient/insufficient videos (p=0.000 and p=0.000, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: As YouTube is an important source of health information about CCHF, there is a need to increase the number of high-quality and reliable content for patients on YouTube™.

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