AB130. YouTube as a source of health information on dengue: a cross-sectional observational study
Abstract

AB130. YouTube as a source of health information on dengue: a cross-sectional observational study

Reuben Victor M. Laguitan1, Angeli Abegail Naranja2, Gilbert D. Bernardino Jr3

1Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, University of the Cordilleras, Baguio, Philippines; 2School of Natural Sciences, University of Baguio, Baguio, Philippines; 3Department of Nursing, College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, University of the Cordilleras, Baguio, Philippines

Background: Dengue remains a pressing public health issue, particularly in tropical regions. As digital health-seeking increases, YouTube has become a widely used but largely unregulated platform for health communication. This study assessed the accuracy, quality, and reliability of dengue-related YouTube videos using two validated tools: modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) and the Global Quality Score (GQS).

Methods: A cross-sectional observational analysis was conducted in May 2025. Using five dengue-related search terms, 454 videos were retrieved; after eligibility screening, 107 unique English-language videos were evaluated. Metadata and engagement metrics were extracted. Two reviewers independently scored videos using mDISCERN and GQS, with discrepancies resolved by a third reviewer. Descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis tests, and Spearman correlations were used to compare uploader types and examine associations.

Results: News agencies contributed the most videos (43.9%) but demonstrated only moderate reliability and quality (good reliability: 14.0%; excellent quality: 10.3%). Hospitals, health websites, and physician-uploaded videos showed higher mean scores (GQS ≥4.0; mDISCERN ≥3.1). No significant differences in quality across uploader types were observed (mDISCERN: P=0.78; GQS: P=0.27). Quality was positively associated with video duration (r=0.403, P<0.001) but not with views, likes, or comments. Overall, 32.7% of videos showed good reliability and 32.7% showed excellent quality.

Conclusions: YouTube contains valuable dengue-related content, but reliability and quality vary widely. Higher-quality institutional and physician-generated videos appear less visible, underscoring the need for interdisciplinary and platform-level strategies to amplify evidence-based health information during outbreaks.

Keywords: Dengue fever; YouTube; digital health communication; health information quality; video content analysis

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the noncommercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/jphe-26-ab130
Cite this abstract as: Laguitan RVM, Naranja AA, Bernardino GD Jr. AB130. YouTube as a source of health information on dengue: a cross-sectional observational study. J Public Health Emerg 2026;10:AB130.

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