The quality and reliability of information in YouTube videos on occupational health and safety

Background: Education is very important to prevent occupational injuries and accidents, which are almost all completely preventable. The aim of this study was to evaluate training videos on this subject on the YouTube platform. Methods: Six search terms related to occupational health and safety (OHS) were scanned on May 31, 2021. After the application of exclusion criteria, a total of 176 videos were included for final analysis using the parameters of country origin, source of the video, content, number of views, comments, likes, dislikes, and video duration. The Global Quality Scale (GQS) and modified DISCERN tools were used to evaluate the quality and reliability of the videos in this analytical cross-sectional study. Results: According to the GQS score, 111 (63.1%) videos were of low quality. Statistically significant differences were found between the low-, moderate-, and high-quality groups with respect to video length, likes, dislikes, comments, likes per day, dislikes per day, comments per day, video category, and the DISCERN scores (P < 0.05). The vast majority of videos contained low-quality information. A large number of videos were uploaded on OHS content from independent users and the USA. Conclusion: There is a clear need for professionals to play a more active role in uploading and sharing high-quality information on Internet platforms on the subject of OHS.