Previously submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research (no longer under consideration since Sep 14, 2020)
Date Submitted: Jun 8, 2020
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Youtube videos quality as a source of information for home exercises to minimize the effects of isolation caused by COVID-19: Observational Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
The world is experiencing a pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus. Insufficient physical activity is a key factor of social isolation strategies that can increase the risk of illness. Home based exercise activities could help during self-isolation.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to assess the availability, characteristics and accuracy of online home exercises in Youtube.
Methods:
A systematic search was carried out on uploaded videos on Youtube. The popularity of videos was evaluated with Video Power Index (VPI). The informational quality and accuracy of the source of information were measured using the Discern Scale and the Global Quality Score (GQS). The exercises were evaluated according to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. Interobserver agreement and individual correlations of each video data were statistically analyzed.
Results:
The first 150 videos were selected and, after applying exclusion criteria, 68 videos were analyzed and evaluated. DISCERN scored a mean of 2,29 (Standard deviation -SD- 0,91) with a median of 2,25 (minimum 0,50 and maximum 4,50); HON CODE scored a mean of 58,95 (SD 12,89) with a median of 57,5 (minimum 24,5 and maximum 85) and GQS scored a mean of 2,32 (SD 0,86) with a median of 2,0 (minimum 1,0 and maximum 4,5).
Conclusions:
The quality of the existing online home exercises videos in Youtube during confinement is low and does not reflect the WHO recommendations. International health organizations must verify whether their recommendations are met on internet. Effective strategies and tools capable of evaluating the quality of this information are needed to filter out erroneous or non-rigorous information that may affect the health of people.
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