Are YouTube videos qualified and reliable as a source of information for mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey? (Preprint)
BACKGROUND Online Health Information has become more important in terms of Pandemic. YouTube is an online platform that people broadly use as a search tool for health information. The quality and reliability of YouTube videos containing health information range from low to high according to literature. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the quality, reliability, and comprehensiveness of contents for YouTube videos in the Turkish language as a source of information for mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS This was a descriptive study. "Coronavirus Mental Health" was searched as a subject on the YouTube channel in the Turkish language on April 11th, 2020. The first 100 videos were taken into consideration. Two independent reviewers classified videos as useful or misleading. The inter-observer agreement was evaluated with the kappa coefficient. Modified DISCERN index for reliability and Global Quality Scale for quality were used. The content was evaluated with a checklist developed by the researchers. RESULTS The mean number of views was 1442.42±3042.49 for useful videos and 1044±1471.83 for misleading videos. The mean Global Quality Scale was 2.68±0.96 for useful videos and 1±0 for misleading videos. The mean DISCERN score was 2.8±1.09, 2.72±0.75, and 3.12±0.66 for shared by independent/professional users, government/news agencies, and universities/professional organizations respectively. CONCLUSIONS The quality and reliability level of mental health videos in the Turkish language for the COVID-19 pandemic was found out moderate. Moreover, the comprehensiveness of contents didn’t include enough detailed information in regards to protecting mental health. CLINICALTRIAL NA