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Health Information Seeking Behaviour on YouTube: A COVID-19 Case Study

Use of YouTube in Health Communication During the COVID-19 Pandemic in India - NIL

Status
Active, not recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
CTRI
Registry ID
CTRI/2024/02/063370
Enrollment
1067
Registered
2024-02-29
Start date
Unknown
Completion date
Unknown
Last updated
2024-03-04

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Interventions

Intervention1: Nil: Nil Control Intervention1: Nil: Nil

Sponsors

University Grants Commission (UGC)
Lead Sponsor

Eligibility

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: YouTube users from 5 Indian States – Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have been included in the study based on the Google Trends data. Coronavirus videos on YouTube were viewed the most in these top 5 states from Jan 2020 to Dec 2022.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria:

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
The proposed study looks at how YouTube users used the COVID-19 information on the platform and what impact the content has on their health decision-making. The survey and interview responses can help understand the potential of social media platforms such as YouTube as a platform for dissemination of health information. The growing popularity of YouTube for health information and exposure to unregulated content on the platform is a big concern among health professionals and users. The data will provide insights into the health information seeking behavior of viewers and how the platform can be made more reliable for health information. The study will assist social media platform managements and government agencies to institute a system which will help consumers/users identify trustworthy sources of information available online and improve their health literacy and their decision-making process about their well-being.Timepoint: The data collection will be completed by Dec 2024.

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
"In the future, all emergencies and pandemics will be accompanied by infodemics that will be better addressed with the tools and insights developed today" (WHO, 2022). The WHO public health research agenda calls for measuring and monitoring the impact of infodemic in case of any health emergencies to develop an ethical framework for social listening and infodemic management. This study will use content analysis to examine the scientific nature of the COVID-19 content available on YouTube and surveys to evaluate how consumers/users dealt with the infodemic amid the global pandemic. The outcome and insights from this research will provide an Indian perspective to the WHO public health research agenda. This can be useful in creating better targeted health campaigns on the platform for easy and timely access to users.Timepoint: The data collection will be completed by Dec 2024.

Countries

India

Contacts

Public ContactDr Usha Manchanda Rodrigues

Manipal Institute of Communication

padma.rani@manipal.edu9686688116

Outcome results

None listed

Source: CTRI (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026