Assessing the Reliability of YouTube as a Patient Education Tool for Assisted Reproductive Technologies

Background Assisted reproductive techniques (ART) have made significant progress in infertility treatment and have found a wide range of applications with various methods, especially in vitro fertilisation. Today, digital platforms such as YouTube have become an important resource for individuals seeking information about ART. However, uncertainties about the reliability and quality of this content pose a potential risk for viewers. This study aims to assess the quality and reliability of ART-related videos on YouTube. Methods 76 videos were analyzed by applying elimination criteria from 350 videos uploaded between October 1, 2014 and October 1, 2024. These videos were obtained through YouTube Data API v3 by searching seven different terms related to in vitro fertilization and infertility. In addition to descriptive statistics on video features, the Global Quality Scale (GQS), Modified DISCERN, JAMA and UTvAC scales were applied to evaluate the quality of the videos. Additionally, sentiment analysis was conducted on the comments of the videos. Results It was determined that the majority of the analyzed videos were at medium quality level. While the JAMA scores indicate that most of the videos are of low quality, the GQS and Modified DISCERN scores suggest that most videos fall within the medium quality range. According to UTvAC, most videos are just below the high-quality limit. The majority of videos were uploaded by doctor-independent influencers (32.9%), non-governmental organizations (25.0%), and news/media (21.1%) channels. The positive comment percentage was found to be 28%, indicating that the videos were generally poorly appreciated by viewers. Conclusion This study revealed that the information quality and reliability of ART videos on YouTube are generally moderate. It is recommended that viewers should adopt a critical approach and turn to reliable sources when evaluating content on ART. The findings of the study show that there is a significant need for improvements in digital health communication and educational content production.