How to select high-quality health educational short videos on social media? insights from youtube and douyin
Yang Hu, Yiran Yang, Na Chen, Ziling Pang, Xia Zhong, Jing Sun
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Social media has become a prominent source of health educational short videos (HESVs), yet their quality varies significantly, with many being inaccurate, incomplete, or poorly presented. Both healthcare professionals and the public lack clear criteria to evaluate HESVs quality when seeking health information on social media. METHODS: This study aims to evaluate the quality of HESVs on YouTube and Douyin based on Lasswell's 5 W communication model, and analyze the key factors for selecting high-quality HESVs. 200 videos were selected from YouTube and Douyin, respectively, between October 1 and November 30, 2024. Four independent reviewers analyzed the quality of HESVs using the Lasswell's Video Quality scale (LassVQ), modified DISCERN (M-DISCERN), and Global Quality Score (GQS). Comparative analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression were conducted by R 4.3.2 software. RESULTS: The median video length was 189 s on YouTube and 88 s on Douyin. Douyin videos received significantly more likes (152190 vs. 116354, P < 0.001) and comments (10496 vs. 2726, P < 0.001) than YouTube videos. The median quality scores on YouTube and Douyin were: LassVQ (3.77 vs. 3.66, P = 0.0254), M-DISCERN (3.12 vs. 2.41, P < 0.001), and GQS (4 vs. 4, P = 0.906). Except for like volume on Douyin (r = 0.25-0.4, P < 0.001), no significant correlation between engagement metrics and the quality of HESVs. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that key factors for high-quality video selection included visible reference information (YouTube: P = 0.002, Douyin: P = 0.014), necessary relevant information (Douyin: P < 0.001), clear dubbing, louder than background music (YouTube: P = 0.005, Douyin: P = 0.021), perception of knowledge acquisition (Douyin: P = 0.021), perception of action necessity (Douyin: P = 0.031), motivation to share (YouTube: P < 0.001), recommended as a trending video (Douyin: P = 0.033). CONCLUSIONS: The quality of HESVs on YouTube and Douyin is inadequate. Users should prioritize trending HESVs produced by experts, with clear dubbing, visible references, essential content, and a clear sense of knowledge acquisition, action necessity, and sharing motivation.