YouTube as a Source of Information on Public Health Ethics

Abstract

Background: Public health ethics (PHE) is a dynamic area within bioethics that addresses the complex moral implications of public health measures in the face of growing health threats. YouTube is a powerful and widely used platform for disseminating health-related information. The primary objective of this study is to assess videos related to PHE on YouTube. The aim is to gauge the extent of misinformation in collecting PHE videos on the platform.

Methods: On October 25, 2023, a thorough investigation on YouTube was undertaken, employing pre-determined search phrases involving 'public health,' 'healthcare,' 'health services administration,' and 'health policy and ethics.' The research encompassed a total of 137 videos that were selected according to strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. The videos were evaluated using the Global Quality Scale to measure quality and the modified DISCERN tool to evaluate reliability. The researchers identified video sources and compared several video attributes across different quality groups.

Results: A total of 137 videos were analyzed, and 65 (47.45%) were classified as high quality, 52 (37.23%) as moderate quality, and 21 (15.32%) as low quality. In high-quality videos, academic, government, physician, and university-hospital sources predominated, whereas Internet users and news sources were connected with low-quality videos. Significant differences in DISCERN score, per day views, likes, and comments were seen across the quality groups (P = 0.001 for views per day and P = 0.001 for other characteristics). According to the findings, low-quality videos had higher median values for daily views, likes, and comments.

Conclusion: Although nearly half of the videos were high-quality, low-quality videos attracted greater attention. Critical contributors to high-quality videos included academic, government, physician, and university-hospital sources. The findings highlight the importance of quality control methods on social media platforms and strategies to direct users to trustworthy health information. Authors should prioritize appropriate citations and evaluate YouTube and other comparable platforms for potential promotional low-quality information.

Keywords: Ethics; Information Science; Internet; Public Health; Social Media.

Fig. 1. The flowchart illustrates the process of selecting YouTube videos.