Is YouTube™ a useful source of information on home parenteral nutrition?
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Published Version
Date
2025
Authors
Wang, Xiangfeng
Sun, Yao
Qu, Xiaoyu
Lei, Tianzi
Song, Yanqing
Deng, Jiayu
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BioMed Central Ltd
Published Version
Abstract
Background: YouTube™ (http://www.youtube.com), the most widely used video website worldwide, is becoming a competitive platform for patients to gain health information and knowledge. This study aims to evaluate if YouTube™ is a useful source of information on home parenteral nutrition (HPN) for the public. Methods: According to MeSH (Medical Subject Headings), the combinations of search terms related to parenteral (intravenous) and nutrition (feeding) were searched through YouTube™. In total 131 videos were evaluated, which were cataloged into three categories Education, News & Politics, and People & Blogs. Then a usefulness score was devised to assess video quality and to classify all videos into Slightly useful, Useful, and Very useful. Results: The majority of videos included are under the Education category (n = 92, 70.23%). 6 videos were identified as Very useful, which were all under the Education category, 27 videos were identified as Useful, while the rest 98 videos were identified as Slightly useful. The number of likes, the number of views, views per day, and the duration of the Very useful videos are significantly higher than those of Slightly useful videos. Conclusion: YouTube™ is a good source of information on home parenteral nutrition. In this study, videos categorized under Education were rated as the highest in usefulness. Due to the highly technical content of HPN, and the existence of a lot of low-credibility information on the internet, patients and professional staff are supposed to view other reliable videos in the field of healthcare information.
Description
Keywords
Home parenteral nutrition , Intravenous feeding , Parenteral feeding , YouTube
Citation
Wang, X., Sun, Y., Qu, X., Lei, T., Song, Y. and Deng, J. (2025) 'Is YouTube™ a useful source of information on home parenteral nutrition?', BMC Public Health, 25(1), p.684. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21929-8