Department of Gastroenterology, Changhai Hospital, the Naval Military Medical University, 168 Changhai Road, Shanghai, 200433, China.
Department of General Medicine, Beicai Community Health Service Center of Pudong New District, Shanghai, China.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Mar 28;23(1):574. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-15456-7.
Probiotics have been deemed multipotent and unprecedentedly applied in the health field recently. However, there are challenges in promoting credible and reliable resources while avoiding misinformation regarding probiotics for the public.
This study analysed 400 eligible probiotic-related videos selected from YouTube, and the three most popular video-sharing platforms (Bilibili, Weibo and TikTok) in China. Video retrieval was performed on September 5, 2022. GQS and tailored DISCERN tool assess each video's quality, usage, and reliability. A comparative analysis of videos from different sources was carried out.
The identity distribution of probiotic video-producers was predominantly experts (n = 202, 50.50%), followed by amateurs (n = 161, 40.25%) and health-related institutions (n = 37, 9.25%). The videos' content category mainly discussed the function of probiotics (n = 120, 30%), the way to choose suitable products (n = 81, 20.25%), and the methods for taking probiotics (n = 71, 17.75%).The overall quality of videos was moderate (3/5 point) assessed by GQS, while the usage (1/6 point) and reliability (2/5 point) detailing probiotics assessed by tailored DISCERN tool were poor. The attitude of probiotic video-producers was primarily positive (n = 323, 80.75%), followed by neutral (n = 52, 13.00%) and negative (n = 25, 6.25%) (P < 0.001).
The current study showed that videos on social media platforms publicise important information including the concepts, usage, and precautions of probiotics to the public. But the overall quality of uploaded videos about probiotics was unsatisfactory. More efforts are needed to improve the higher-quality content of probiotic-related online videos and better propagate probiotic knowledge to the public in the future.
益生菌被认为具有多功能性，最近在健康领域得到了前所未有的应用。然而，在为公众宣传益生菌的可信可靠资源的同时，也面临着避免错误信息的挑战。
本研究分析了从中国三个最受欢迎的视频分享平台（Bilibili、Weibo 和 TikTok）和 YouTube 上选择的 400 个符合条件的益生菌相关视频。视频检索于 2022 年 9 月 5 日进行。GQS 和定制的 DISCERN 工具评估每个视频的质量、使用情况和可靠性。对来自不同来源的视频进行了比较分析。
益生菌视频制作人员的身份分布以专家为主（n=202，50.50%），其次是业余爱好者（n=161，40.25%）和与健康相关的机构（n=37，9.25%）。视频的内容类别主要讨论益生菌的功能（n=120，30%）、选择合适产品的方法（n=81，20.25%）和服用益生菌的方法（n=71，17.75%）。GQS 评估的总体视频质量为中等（3/5 分），而定制的 DISCERN 工具评估的益生菌使用（1/6 分）和可靠性（2/5 分）较差。益生菌视频制作人员的态度主要为积极（n=323，80.75%），其次为中立（n=52，13.00%）和消极（n=25，6.25%）（P<0.001）。
本研究表明，社交媒体平台上的视频向公众宣传了益生菌的概念、使用和注意事项等重要信息。但是，上传的益生菌相关视频的整体质量不尽如人意。未来需要付出更多努力，提高益生菌相关网络视频的高质量内容，并向公众更好地传播益生菌知识。
