YOUTUBE™ QUALITY AS A RESOURCE ON RATIONAL USE OF ANTIBIOTICS IN THE COMMUNITY: A REMEDIAL APPROACH TO ANTIMICROBIAL MANAGEMENT

Objective: Infections for which antibiotics were influential in the past, cannot be adequately treated today and the evolution of microorganisms with multiple antibiotic resistance is due to the irrational use of antibiotics. The study aims to help develop effective drug information systems for rational antibiotic use and enable patients to make informed treatment decisions. Material and Methods: A search of YouTube™ was performed using the three keywords ‘correct antibiotic use’, ‘wrong antibiotic use’, and ‘antibiotic resistance’. Video lengths, dates of upload, numbers of total views, likes, dislikes, and comments were collected. The study viewed and analyzed the top 90 directly relevant videos for each of our search terms. Two pharmacologists independently evaluated the videos. For each video viewed, the following information was analyzed: the video's title, the date it was uploaded, the source and location of the video, the number of views the video has received overall, its duration, the number of likes and dislikes, and the number of comments. Results: 90 of the top 422 videos from the YouTube™ search results after evaluation were added to the study for additional examination. The mean DISCERN and JAMA scores were 46.42±10.91 and 2.29±0.58, respectively. There was a high correlation between the videos evaluated according to DISCERN and JAMA scales. Conclusion: YouTube™ videos can be used as a valuable source for rational antibiotic use. This inclusion of antimicrobial resistance topics in social media could be a cornerstone in the worldwide fight against antimicrobial resistance if tested extensively in field conditions and used in the public interest on a larger scale.