YouTube videos related to diabetic retinopathy: Are they good enough?

BACKGROUND

YouTube has remained the most commonly used online platform and is increasingly used for health education. Although videos related to diabetic retinopathy on YouTube are abundant, there is still a paucity of research regarding the detailed analysis of their quality and content.

PURPOSE

This study aims to assess the content, sources, and overall usefulness of information published on the YouTube platform regarding diabetic retinopathy (DR).

METHODS

The YouTube website was systematically searched using the keyword "diabetic retinopathy" between August 14 and September 29, 2021.

RESULTS

A total of 465 videos related to DR were included in our analysis. Of these videos, 215 (46.4%) videos were released from the United States. The highest number of videos were uploaded by medical websites (32.9%), followed by hospitals/medical centers (23%). Educational videos on DR including basic information, complications, treatment, staging and retinal photographs were the most frequent category. Videos containing basic information, complications and videos with animation on DR received the highest numbers of views (2,768,062, 2,361,999, and 1,946,586, respectively). Videos uploaded by hospitals/medical centers received a high mean number of views, likes, and dislikes. Overall, 72.5% of videos on DR published on YouTube were considered largely useful.

CONCLUSIONS

Videos published by medical websites, hospitals/medical centers and those pertaining to basic information, complications, and animation on DR were the most attractive. Hence, these types of videos can be targeted to increase awareness about DR.

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