An assessment of reliability and quality of video content was researched by Calvin Chan and others in a paper submitted for publication on June 3rd in the JMIR public health and surveillance journals.
They tried to evaluate the reliability and quality of information of YouTube videos regarding COVID-19 vaccination.
They searched on the UK version of YouTube for all phrases containing Coronavirus vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine on December 10th 2020.
They found 200 most viewed videos of each search.
The video content and characteristics were extracted and independently rated against health on the net foundation code of conduct and discerned quality criteria for consumer health information by two authors.
They found 48 videos with a combined total view count of 30,100,561 and these were included in the analysis.
Topics addressed comprised:
- Vaccine science 58%
- Vaccine trials 58%
- Side effects 48%
- Efficacy 35%
- Manufacturing 17%
21% of videos encourage continued public health measures.
Only 4.2% of videos made non-factual claims.
98% of video content was scored to have low 60% or medium 38% adherence to code principles.
Educational channels produced by both medical and non-medical professionals achieved significantly higher discern scores and other categories.
The highest discern score were achieved by educational videos produced by medical professionals 64.3 and the lowest score by independent users 18%.
They concluded overall quality and reliability of information on YouTube regarding COVID-19 vaccine was poor. Videos produced by educational channels, especially by medical professionals, were higher in quality and reliability than those produced by other sources, including health-related organisations.
Collaboration between health-related organisations and established medical and educational YouTube content providers should provide an opportunity for dissemination of high quality information regarding COVID-19 vaccination.
Such collaboration holds potential as a rapidly implementable public health intervention aiming to engage a wide audience and increase public awareness and knowledge.
The London General Practice, a leading London doctor’s clinic, helps support all aspects of COVID healthcare including all aspects of testing including:
- PCR testing
- Lateral flow antigen testing
- Rapid Antigen Testing
- Rapid PCR
- All Fit to Fly Covid-19 Tests
- Day 2, 5 and 8 Covid-19 Testing
It also supports patients with their COVID assistance service and also has set up a multidisciplinary team to help those with post-acute or long COVID.
Dr Paul Ettlinger
BM, DRCOG, FRCGP, FRIPH, DOccMed