Analysis of content, credibility, and reliability of information on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treatment in YouTube™ videos: a cross-sectional observational study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/Keywords:
COPD, Videos, Treatment, Clinical GuidelinesAbstract
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
is characterized by airway abnormalities, resulting in persistent
airflow obstruction. Treatment involves pharmacological and
nonpharmacological interventions which are supported by several
COPD consensus and guidelines. YouTube can often be used to
share information about treatments for chronic diseases like COPD;
however, the credibility of such information may not be adequate.
This study evaluates the reliability and credibility of information
concerning COPD treatment disseminated on YouTube, the
most popular social media platform, and assess its alignment
with the GOLD guideline. A cross-sectional observational study
was conducted to select the first 200 English-language videos
on COPD treatment posted on YouTube. Video evaluation used
validated instruments, including the DISCERN tool (quality
assessment), the Health on the Net Foundation Code of Conduct
- HONcode (credibility assessment), and the GOLD guideline
(reference). Poor agreement with the GOLD guideline (97.4%)
was found. HONcode assessment showed that 75.7% of the
videos achieved a high credibility rating. Regarding information
quality, 75.7% of the videos received positive ratings based on
the DISCERN tool. Despite exhibiting adequate credibility, the
analyzed videos displayed fluctuating levels of quality, ranging
from medium to low. Moreover, there was limited consensus
between the videos and the GOLD guideline. Continuous analysis
of such content can be used to ensure dissemination of reliable
information on YouTube.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Ana Luíza da Silva Nunes Teixeira Rodrigues, Vanessa Kelly da Silva Lage, Redha Taiar, Joyce Noelly Vitor Santos, Laisa Braga Maia, Jousielle Márcia dos Santos, Vinícius Cunha Oliveira, Ana Cristina Rodrigues Lacerda, Vanessa Amaral Mendonça
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
