Healthcare information on YouTube: A systematic review
Abstract
This article reviews the peer-reviewed literature addressing the healthcare information available on YouTube. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were determined, and the online databases PubMed and Web of Knowledge were searched using the search phrases: (1) YouTube* AND Health* and (2) YouTube* AND Healthcare*. In all, 18 articles were reviewed, with the results suggesting that (1) YouTube is increasingly being used as a platform for disseminating health information; (2) content and frame analysis were the primary techniques employed by researchers to analyze the characteristics of this information; (3) YouTube contains misleading information, primarily anecdotal, that contradicts the reference standards and the probability of a lay user finding such content is relatively high; (4) the retrieval of relevant videos is dependent on the search term used; and (5) videos from government organizations and professional associations contained trustworthy and high-quality information. YouTube is used as a medium for promoting unscientific therapies and drugs that are yet to be approved by the appropriate agencies and has the potential to change the beliefs of patients concerning controversial topics such as vaccinations. This review recognizes the need to design interventions to enable consumers to critically assimilate the information posted on YouTube with more authoritative information sources to make effective healthcare decisions.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The open, user-generated nature of short-video platforms raises significant concerns about information quality and accuracy.
“the open, user-generated nature of these platforms raises significant concerns about information quality and accuracy11,12.”
Cites
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 54th Annual Meeting
Kluge, A., Badura, B., Urbas, L., & Burkolter, D. (2010) · Cited by 1,121 · see citing works
YouTube for Information on Rheumatoid Arthritis — A Wakeup Call?
Singh, A. G., Singh, S., & Singh, P. P. (2012) · The Journal of Rheumatology · doi:10.3899/jrheum.111114 · Cited by 911 · see citing works
YouTube as a Source of Information on Immunization: A Content Analysis
Keelan, J. E., Pavri-Garcia, V., TOMLINSON, G. A., & Wilson, K. R. (2007) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.298.21.2482 · Cited by 593 · see citing works
Using the Internet for Health-Related Activities: Findings From a National Probability Sample
Atkinson, N. L., Saperstein, S. L., & Pleis, J. R. (2009) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.1035 · Cited by 585 · see citing works
When Vaccines Go Viral: An Analysis of HPV Vaccine Coverage on YouTube
Briones, R., Nan, X., Madden, K., & Waks, L. (2012) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2011.610258 · Cited by 381 · see citing works
Fagerlin, A., Wang, C., & Ubel, P. A. (2005) · Medical Decision Making · doi:10.1177/0272989x05278931 · Cited by 377 · see citing works
YouTube As a Source of Information on the H1N1 Influenza Pandemic
Pandey, A., Patni, N., Singh, M., Sood, A., & Singh, G. (2010) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2009.11.007 · Cited by 367 · see citing works
Rutten, L. J. F., Squiers, L., & Hesse, B. W. (2006) · Journal of Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10810730600637574 · Cited by 313 · see citing works
YouTube as Source of Prostate Cancer Information
Steinberg, P. L., Wason, S. E. L., Stern, J. M., Deters, L. A., Kowal, B. F., & Seigne, J. D. (2009) · Urology · doi:10.1016/j.urology.2008.07.059 · Cited by 271 · see citing works
Freeman, B., & Chapman, S. F. (2007) · Tobacco Control · doi:10.1136/tc.2007.020024 · Cited by 269 · see citing works
Lynch, B., Einspruch, E. L., Nichol, G., et al. (2005) · Resuscitation · doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2005.04.017 · Cited by 247 · see citing works
Obesity in the New Media: A Content Analysis of Obesity Videos on YouTube
Yoo, J. H., & Kim, J.-H. (2011) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2011.569003 · Cited by 219 · see citing works
Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Coverage on YouTube
Ache, K. A., & Wallace, L. S. (2008) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2008.06.029 · Cited by 196 · see citing works
YouTube as a source of information on cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Murugiah, K., Vallakati, A., Rajput, K., Sood, A., & Challa, N. R. (2010) · Resuscitation · doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2010.11.015 · Cited by 191 · see citing works
YouTube, Dentistry, and Dental Education
Knösel, M., Jung, K., & Bleckmann, A. (2011) · Journal of Dental Education · doi:10.1002/j.0022-0337.2011.75.12.tb05215.x · Cited by 174 · see citing works
Pant, S., Deshmukh, A. J., Murugiah, K., et al. (2012) · Clinical Cardiology · doi:10.1002/clc.21981 · Cited by 171 · see citing works
Lewis, S. P., Heath, N. L., Sornberger, M. J., & Arbuthnott, A. E. (2012) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.01.013 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Social Media in Health — What are the Safety Concerns for Health Consumers?
Lau, A. Y. S., Gabarrón, E., Fernández-Luque, L., & Armayones, M. (2012) · Health Information Management Journal · doi:10.1177/183335831204100204 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
YouTube Videos as a Teaching Tool and Patient Resource for Infantile Spasms
Fat, M. J. L., Doja, A., Barrowman, N. J., et al. (2011) · Journal of Child Neurology · doi:10.1177/0883073811402345 · Cited by 114 · see citing works
Organ Donation on Web 2.0: Content and Audience Analysis of Organ Donation Videos on YouTube
Tian, Y. (2010) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410231003698911 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Informational value and bias of videos related to orthodontics screened on a video-sharing Web site
Knösel, M., & Jung, K. (2011) · The Angle Orthodontist · doi:10.2319/091710-541.1 · Cited by 103 · see citing works
A Content Analysis of Smoking Fetish Videos on YouTube: Regulatory Implications for Tobacco Control
Kim, K., Paek, H., & Lynn, J. (2010) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410230903544415 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
Connecting world youth with tobacco brands: YouTube and the internet policy vacuum on Web 2.0
Elkin, L. E., Thomson, G. O. B., & Wilson, N. (2010) · Tobacco Control · doi:10.1136/tc.2010.035949 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Madathil, K. C., Koikkara, R., Obeid, J. S., Greenstein, J. S., Sanderson, I. C., Fryar, K., Moskowitz, J. H., & Gramopadhye, A. K. (2013) · International Journal of Medical Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2013.04.008 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
Self-citationSocial Networks Lack Useful Content for Incontinence
Sajadi, K. P., & Goldman, H. B. (2011) · Urology · doi:10.1016/j.urology.2011.04.074 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Movement Disorders on YouTube — Caveat Spectator
Stamelou, M., Edwards, M. J., Espay, A. J., Fung, V. S. C., Hallett, M., Lang, A. E., Tijssen, M. A. J., & Bhatia, K. P. (2011) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmc1107673 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Videos on Rhabdomyosarcoma on YouTube
Clerici, C. A., Veneroni, L., Bisogno, G., Trapuzzano, A., & Ferrari, A. (2012) · Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology · doi:10.1097/mph.0b013e31825886f8 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Jones, I. R., Handley, A. J., Whitfield, R., et al. (2007) · Resuscitation · doi:10.1016/j.resuscitation.2007.04.030 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Medical Information on YouTube
Hayanga, A. J. (2008) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.299.12.1424-b · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Soar, J., Peyton, J., Leonard, M., et al. (2009) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.b220 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Sanderson, I. C., Obeid, J. S., Madathil, K. C., Gerken, K. K., Fryar, K., Rugg, D., Alstad, C. E., Alexander, R., Brady, K. T., Gramopadhye, A. K., et al. (2013) · Clinical Trials · doi:10.1177/1740774513491338 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Self-citationDescriptive Analysis of YouTube Music Therapy Videos
Gooding, L. F., & Gregory, D. (2011) · Journal of Music Therapy · doi:10.1093/jmt/48.3.357 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Updating Public Health Teaching Methods in the Era of Social Media
Kapp, J. M., LeMaster, J. W., Lyon, M., Zhang, B., & Hosokawa, M. C. (2009) · Public Health Reports · doi:10.1177/003335490912400603 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
A Vidcasting Project to Promote the Pharmacist's Role in Public Health
Haines, S. L., & Amburgh, J. A. V. (2010) · American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education · doi:10.5688/aj740697 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Stephen, K., & Cumming, G. (2012) · Menopause international · doi:10.1258/mi.2012.012007 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
An Investigation of the Informational Needs of Ovarian Cancer Patients and Their Supporters
Madathil, K. C., Greenstein, J. S., Juang, K. A., Neyens, D. M., & Gramopadhye, A. K. (2013) · Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting · doi:10.1177/1541931213571163 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Self-citationObeid, J. S., Gerken, K. K., Madathil, K. C., Rugg, D., Alstad, C. E., Fryar, K., Alexander, R., Gramopadhye, A. K., Moskowitz, J. H., & Sanderson, I. C. (2013) · PubMed Central · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Self-citationSocial media and the IUD — a YouTube content analysis
Allen, A. J., Nguyen, B., Nagalla, R., et al. (2012) · Contraception · doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2012.05.115 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Madathil, K. C., Koikkara, R., Dorlette-Paul, M., Ranganayakulu, S., Greenstein, J. S., & Gramopadhye, A. K. (2012) · Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting · doi:10.1177/1071181312561192 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Self-citationMarketing. The Dawn of the fan.
Shepherd, S. (2008) · PubMed · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Watch how Great Ormond Street uses WHO checklist on YouTube
Lambert, B., Mushtaq, I., Elliot, M., et al. (2009) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.b518 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Is YouTube a reliable source of health-related information? A systematic review
Osman, W., Mohamed, F., Elhassan, M., & Shoufan, A. (2022) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-022-03446-z · Cited by 437 · see citing works
Hanley, A. W., Dehili, V., Krzanowski, D., Barou, D., Lecy, N., & Garland, E. L. (2022) · Clinical Social Work Journal · doi:10.1007/s10615-021-00812-0 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Zhang, Y.-J., Guo, Y.-Y., & Wang, Y. (2026) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-026-52532-5 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
- Authors
- Madathil, K. C., Rivera-Rodriguez, A. J., Greenstein, J. S., & Gramopadhye, A. K.
- Affiliations
- Clemson University (US)
- Venue
- Health Informatics Journal
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2014-03-25
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 173-194
- ISSN
- 1355-4743 (ISSN-L)
- 1460-4582
- 1741-2811
- OpenAlex
- W2126563661
- Cited by
- 1,290
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 158 · 2025: 160 · 2024: 160 · 2023: 182 · 2022: 173 · 2021: 175 · 2020: 100 · 2019: 74 · 2018: 41 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 21 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 3
- FWCI
- 3.19
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Health Informatics Journal (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Social Media in Health Education
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
- Keywords
- YouTube, health information, online health information, health misinformation, unproven treatments, unproven drugs, patient decision-making, health information quality, video retrieval, professional associations
- MeSH terms
- Health Education, Humans, Internet, Consumer Health Information, Social Media
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
