A cross-sectional study of the portrayal of childhood speech and language disorders in YouTube videos

PURPOSE: This study examined meta-data, source, type of informational content, understandability, and actionability of YouTube content related to speech and/or language disorders. METHOD: The 100 most widely viewed videos related to children with speech and/or language disorders were obtained. Meta-data and sources of each upload were identified. Type of informational content within the videos was analyzed. The Patient Education Material Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials was used to assess understandability and actionability. RESULTS: A significant difference between video source groups was found for length of video, thumbs-up, and thumbs-down, but not for number of views. The YouTube videos related to speech and/or language disorders covered a range of issues, although a majority of the content focused on signs/symptoms and treatment. Videos had close-to-adequate understandability (i.e. 68%), although poor actionability scores (i.e. 32%) were noted. Videos uploaded by professionals were superior to other upload sources in understandability, but no difference was noted between video source for actionability. CONCLUSIONS: Study insights about meta-data, source, type of informational content, understandability, and actionability of YouTube videos may help professionals understand the nature of online content related to speech and/or language disorders. Study implications and recommendations for further research are discussed.