Objectives

Now that the internet is more accessible to an increasing number of populations worldwide, many rely on the internet for their information about their daily lives. This includes people concerned about their health to students to sometimes also doctors. Since YouTube is the second most visited website, our aim was to evaluate the content-quality of YouTube videos relating to meningitis.

Methods

We chose the first 30 videos for four different search phrases: meningitis, bacterial meningitis, viral meningitis, fungal meningitis and meningitis signs. The validated DISCERN scoring criteria was used to assess the videos by two raters independently. Qualitative data, quantitative data and the source of upload of each video were analyzed for video quality and audience engagement.

Results

Out of 150 videos, 84 videos met the inclusion criteria. The mean DISCERN score was 34.6 ± 9.76 (out of a total 75), which indicates that the quality of YouTube videos on meningitis is poor. There is an excellent reliability between the two raters. Videos had a higher audience engagement via a greater number of daily views and comments when they included the definition, symptoms, prognosis, animation, diagrams, and an anatomical explanation of the meninges (P < 0.0001 for all).

Conclusion

The quality of YouTube videos on meningitis is poor, however, we have listed the videos which may be most effective for patient education for reference. Our quality and engagement analysis may help content creators make better health content on meningitis.

中文翻译：

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YouTube 作为脑膜炎患者信息的来源：内容质量和观众参与度分析

目标

现在，全世界越来越多的人可以更容易地访问互联网，许多人依靠互联网获取有关他们日常生活的信息。这包括关心自己健康的人、学生，有时也包括医生。由于 YouTube 是访问量第二大的网站，我们的目标是评估与脑膜炎相关的 YouTube 视频的内​​容质量。

方法

我们为四个不同的搜索词组选择了前 30 个视频：脑膜炎、细菌性脑膜炎、病毒性脑膜炎、真菌性脑膜炎和脑膜炎体征。经验证的 DISCERN 评分标准用于由两名评分者独立评估视频。针对视频质量和观众参与度分析了每个视频的定性数据、定量数据和上传来源。

结果

在 150 个视频中，84 个视频符合纳入标准。平均 DISCERN 得分为 34.6 ± 9.76（总分为 75），这表明 YouTube 脑膜炎视频的质量很差。两个评估者之间具有极好的可靠性。当视频包含脑膜的定义、症状、预后、动画、图表和解剖学解释时，通过更多的日常观看和评论，视频具有更高的观众参与度（所有 P < 0.0001）。

结论

YouTube 上关于脑膜炎的视频质量很差，但我们列出了可能对患者教育最有效的视频以供参考。我们的质量和参与度分析可以帮助内容创作者制作更好的脑膜炎健康内容。