Educational Quality of YouTube Videos on Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Abstract Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a disorder that can be fatal due to complications about which public knowledge is limited. YouTube, a very popular video site, can be used as a tool for learning about health issues as many videos are uploaded on the site and are viewed by large numbers. Cognizant of the power and potential of media to lead/mislead the audience, we aimed to investigate the utility and reliability of the information on OSA provided in YouTube videos. Queries of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Sleep Apnea were searched on YouTube. Three independent researchers classified and analyzed 151 videos by a customized scoring system along with likes, dislikes, total view time (min), and views/day. While educational [education (79%) and news (11%)] videos were encountered to be the highest, alternative medicine videos (2%) were to be the lowest. Average total quality score of education and news videos (10.8, for both) was the highest, and alternative medicine videos (5.7) was the lowest. ANOVA testing showed significant differences between all categories and likes (p < .001), dislikes (p = .012), daily views (p < .001), audio-visual quality (p = .028), comprehensiveness (p = .014), and content scores (p = .010). Most videos focused on otorhinolaryngology (51%) and surgery (31%). Likes (n:370.3) and daily views (n:56.7) of the alternative medicine videos were found to be the highest. Likes (n:31.7) and daily views (n:7.1) of the educational videos were observed to be the lowest. Although the number and quality of the educational videos were higher, the less viewing guided health professionals to increase the attractiveness of the videos’ contents.