A cross-sectional descriptive analysis of portrayal of autism spectrum disorders in YouTube videos: A short report

Abstract

Professionals have expressed concerns about the quality of autism-related information available from Internet-based sources. The purpose of this study was to examine the source, content, usability, and actionability of autism spectrum disorder–related information contained in 100 different videos directed to families of children with autism spectrum disorder uploaded to YouTube. Upload sources were identified, and video content was coded. Understandability and actionability of the videos were examined using Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials. The collective number of views of the videos was almost 100 million. The length of videos was 691.17 min (i.e. 11.5 h) with the shortest video being 30 s and the longest video being 37.36 min. The YouTube videos related to autism spectrum disorder covered a range of issues, although much of the content was focused on signs and symptoms. No difference in content reporting was noted based on sources for most categories, although differences were noted in some categories (e.g. professionals mentioned diagnosis and resources more frequently). Poor understandability and actionability scores (i.e. below 70%) were reported for all videos regardless of video source. However, the videos generated by the professionals were superior in terms of understandability. Study implications and recommendations for further research are discussed.

Portrayal of Hearing Loss in YouTube Videos: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Analysis

“…However, there was no difference between video source and actionability indicating that all videos were lacking in enabling individuals to easily identify what they need to do. These results are also consistent with the previous literature (Bellon-Harn et al, 2019;Manchaiah et al, 2020b). It is disconcerting that actionability was inadequate because it suggests that these videos did not empower the viewer to take an action.…”

“…Some differences were noted in terms of understandability scores of videos uploaded by different sources. Videos uploaded by professionals were superior in understandability than other video sources, which is consistent with previous research in communication disorder videos (Bellon-Harn et al, 2019;Manchaiah et al, 2020b). However, there was no difference between video source and actionability indicating that all videos were lacking in enabling individuals to easily identify what they need to do.…”

“…The study design followed a similar design to those by previous studies YouTube studies on other health areas (e.g., Basch et al, 2017Basch et al, , 2018Bellon-Harn et al, 2019;Manchaiah et al, 2020b). This study did not require ethical approval as it did not involve human subjects.…”

“…Interestingly, only 16 of the 100 videos were uploaded by consumers. Moreover, the type of electronic media platform may influence its function for the end-user (Bellon-Harn et al, 2019). The lay public may be using other platforms to engage in the digital conversation regarding psychosocial issues.…”

“…Online information and support can have varying quality, accuracy, and reliability (Eysenbach & Köhler, 2002;Kitchens et al, 2014). Finally, the manner with which individuals use the various electronic media platforms for health information for self-management or health decision making may be different (Bellon-Harn et al, 2019).…”