Abstract
Background:A significant proportion of the public rely on the internet for their health information, and social media has emerged as the principal information source. YouTube is the world’s largest and most popular video library, and it has emerged as a primary health information source because it offers animated and interactive content. However, little is known of its usefulness of neurosurgery videos to African YouTube users. We aim with this study to evaluate the usefulness of YouTube as a source of patient information for neurosurgical care in Africa.Methodology:This observational study will be conducted using YouTube. A search will be carried out to identify neurosurgery videos suggested to African YouTube viewers from inception to September 2021. An internet browser (Google Chrome, Google Inc., CA, USA) with its cache cleared will be used to execute the search. The default YouTube search setting of “relevance” will be used to replicate what a search attempt performed by a patient would be. The first 50 results from each keyword search will be registered in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (Microsoft, WA, USA). The primary outcome measure is the reliability of the videos. Data will be analyzed using SPSS version 26 (IBM, WA, USA). Odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals will be calculated. The statistically significant level will be set at 0.05. Also, a linear regression analysis will be performed to examine the effects of independent variables on continuous dependent variables.Dissemination:The study findings will be published in an academic peer-reviewed journal, and the abstract will be presented at an international conference. English and French visual and video abstracts of the methods and key findings will be designed and disseminated widely on social media.Highlights: A significant proportion of the public rely on the internet and social media for health information.YouTube has emerged as the world’s largest video library, and has emerged as a primary health information source.There are few safeguards to avoid dissemination of false or biased information on the platform this could negatively influence health seeking behaviorWe aim to evaluate the usefulness of YouTube as a source of patient information for neurosurgical care in Africa.The findings of this study will help evaluate the volume and quantity of African neurosurgical video content and identify best practices.
Highlights
A significant proportion of the public rely on the internet for their health information, and social media has emerged as the principal information source
●We aim to evaluate the usefulness of YouTube as a source of patient information for neurosurgical care in Africa
A search strategy using the terms in Appendix 1 will be used to identify neurosurgery videos suggested to African YouTube viewers from inception to September 2021
Summary
A significant proportion of the public rely on the internet for their health information, and social media has emerged as the principal information source [1]. Users need reliable internet access to partake in social media activities so internet access has become a determinant of health information equity. The instantaneous nature and wide audience of social media promote content generation. The platform has emerged as a primary health information source because it offers animated and interactive content [5]. There are few safeguards or standards to avoid the dissemination of false or biased information on the platform, and the instantaneous nature of social media means that once false information is identified it is almost impossible to undo the harm that has been done. We aim to evaluate the usefulness of YouTube as a source of patient information for neurosurgical care in Africa. 1.1 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To evaluate the usefulness of YouTube videos on neurosurgery available to African YouTube viewers
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
