Aspergillosis on YouTube: Assessment of Quality and Reliability of Uploaded Videos

Aspergillosis, a fungal disease caused by the genus Aspergillus, can lead to various clinical manifestations, especially in immunocompromised individuals. YouTube serves as a major source of health information, but the quality and reliability of its content vary. We evaluated the quality, reliability, and educational value of uploaded YouTube videos on aspergillosis.

On August 20th, 2024, YouTube Videos on aspergillosis were selected based on the number of views and analyzed using the Global Quality Score (GQS), Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Benchmark Criteria, and the Modified DISCERN Questionnaire. Videos were categorized by creators (Doctors, Medical tutors, Patients, Others). Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman correlation were used to assess video quality and its association with video parameters.

We included 50 videos, which generally exhibited high content quality with a median GQS of 4.00 (IQR = 0.50), good information quality with a JAMA median score of 3.00 (IQR = 0.75), and moderate reliability with mDISCERN median score of 3.40 (IQR = 1.00). Significant positive correlations were found between video duration and GQS (r = 0.592, p < 0.001), JAMA (r = 0.308, p = 0.031), and mDISCERN (r = 0.667, p < 0.001). High-quality videos had significantly longer durations, with a median of 12.97 min (IQR = 16.57) compared to low-to-medium-quality videos with 2.00 min (IQR = 5.57) (p < 0.001).

There is a significant variability in the quality of videos on aspergillosis on YouTube. While longer videos tend to offer more reliable and comprehensive information, relying on popularity metrics alone may lead to misinformation. There is a need for critical evaluation of online information on this important fungal disease and the promotion of high-quality content to enhance public understanding and health outcomes.