You are the content you consume: Level of informative content of the most commonly viewed dysphagia videos on YouTube

Abstract

Individuals experiencing dysphagia frequently search for information to discover the cause or best management of their dysphagia from the internet due to delays in in-person service or lack of regional specialists. However, online information is frequently unregulated and could be inaccurate, thus potentially endangering patients. This study aimed to investigate and evaluate the content quality of the top 25 videos related to dysphagia on the video streaming website YouTube (www.YouTube.com). YouTube was searched using the key term ‘dysphagia’ with the top 25 viewed videos transcribed. The videos were scored using a 10-point scoring system to determine their content quality by awarding points for each domain covered, then categorised as either strong, moderate or poor. The characteristics of each video were recorded and descriptive statistical analysis tests performed. 52% (n= 13) of the videos analysed were scored to have poor content quality, with only 20% of the videos rated as strong quality. The content rated as poor quality had the largest total number of views (2,025,299), suggesting that an individual who searches YouTube using the search term “dysphagia”, is likely to view a video of poor content quality. This study highlights that the dysphagia health information most commonly viewed on YouTube, is predominantly of poor content quality. YouTube offers a valuable opportunity for health professionals to share evidence-based, high quality health information on a variety of topics with the public. Hence, the quality of available information should be addressed to mitigate the spread of misinformation.