Mastitis on YouTube: analysis of Medical Information, Credibility, and Discursive Perspectives
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56294/saludcyt20251303Keywords:
Mastitis, YouTube, Health Communication, Breastfeeding, Digital Health, Content AnalysisAbstract
Introduction: mastitis, a breastfeeding-related inflammatory condition, presents significant health challenges. YouTube is a popular platform for health information, but its content quality and credibility are inconsistent.
Methods: a qualitative content analysis was conducted on 51 YouTube videos about mastitis, selected by relevance, user engagement, and views. The analysis evaluated medical information, credibility, and discursive strategies, using predefined criteria such as technical language, source reliability, and narrative coherence.
Results: of the 51 videos analyzed, 98% addressed symptoms (e.g., pain and inflammation), 94 % included definitions, and 82 % discussed causes. Treatment strategies were present in 78%, while only 63 % mentioned preventive measures. Emotional and sociocultural dimensions were overlooked in 86% of videos. Institutional channels achieved higher credibility scores, averaging 3.8/5, while independent creators averaged 2,4/5. Educational and narrative-personal tones dominated, appearing in 39 % and 45 % of videos, respectively. However, 27% contained commercial elements, potentially undermining credibility.
Conclusions: youTube shows potential for health education about mastitis but requires stricter content quality standards. Enhancing emotional and sociocultural content through collaboration between health organizations and digital creators could improve the reliability and impact of information shared.
References
Cullinane M, Amir LH, Donath SM, Garland SM, Tabrizi SN, Payne MS, et al. Determinants of mastitis in women in the CASTLE study: a cohort study. BMC Fam Pract. 2015;16:1-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-015-0396-5
Amir LH, Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Protocol Committee. ABM Clinical Protocol #4: Mastitis, Revised March 2014. Breastfeed Med. 2014;9(5):239–43. doi:10.1089/bfm.2014.9984. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1089/bfm.2014.9984
Wilson E, Woodd SL, Benova L. Incidence of and risk factors for lactational mastitis: A systematic review. J Hum Lact. 2020;36(4):673–86. doi:10.1177/0890334420942158.
Couto GR, Dias FA, Oliveira MIC. Mastitis in breastfeeding women: prevalence and risk factors. Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet. 2010;32(9):414–20. doi:10.1590/S0100-72032010000900005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-72032010000900005
Mediano P, Fernández L, Rodríguez JM, Marín M. Case–control study of risk factors for infectious mastitis in Spanish breastfeeding women. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2014;14:1-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-14-195
Chen YC, Chan CH, Lim YB, Yang SF, Yeh LT, Wang YH, et al. Risk of breast cancer in women with mastitis: a retrospective population-based cohort study. Medicina (Kaunas). 2020;56(8):372. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina56080372
Villa LSC, Mello ADC, Gonçalves JV, da Silva TMG, Bernuci MP. Avaliação da qualidade dos vídeos sobre câncer de mama mais visualizados no YouTube: relevância para promoção da saúde da mulher. Rev Eletrônica Comun Informação Inovação Saúde. 2021;15(3). DOI: https://doi.org/10.29397/reciis.v15i3.2342
Nieves-Cuervo GM, Espitia-Duran LT, Moreno-Salamanca MA. Utilidad de YouTube como fuente de información durante las emergencias sanitarias: caso de la pandemia COVID-19. Rev Univ Ind Santander Salud. 2021;53. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18273/saluduis.53.e:21003
Hillyer GC, Basch CH, Basch CE. Coverage of transmission of COVID-19 information on successive samples of YouTube videos. J Community Health. 2021;1-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-020-00956-z
Vassallo CJ. Videoconsejos “Tu Farmacéutico Informa” en YouTube: análisis de eficacia e impacto en la educación sanitaria de los internautas. Rev Comun SEECI. 2022;(55):211–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15198/seeci.2022.55.e789
Hanchard N. The role of YouTube in health communication: A review of its effectiveness in disseminating information. Health Commun. 2021;36(3):391–400. doi:10.1080/10410236.2020.1746007.
Szmuda T, Özdemir C, Ali S, Singh A, Słoniewski P. YouTube as a source of patient information for diseases: A content-quality analysis. BMJ Glob Health. 2020;5(6):e002629. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002629. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-31091/v1
Krippendorff K. The content analysis reader. Sage; 2009.
Laurier E. Participant and non-participant observation. In: Key methods in geography. 2016. p. 169.
Baeza C. Acute, subclinical, and subacute mastitis: Definitions, etiology, and clinical management. Clin Lact. 2016;7(1):7–10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1891/2158-0782.7.1.7
Louis-Jacques AF, Berwick M, Mitchell KB. Risk factors, symptoms, and treatment of lactational mastitis. JAMA. 2023;329(7):588–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2023.0004
Wilson E, Woodd SL, Benova L. Incidence of and risk factors for lactational mastitis: a systematic review. J Hum Lact. 2020;36(4):673–86. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0890334420907898
Haider R, Mehdi A, Kumari G, Ahmed Z, Zameer S. Mastitis. Contemp J Appl Sci. 2024;2(1):15–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.59890/ijnhs.v2i2.1260
Díaz-Badillo Á, Ramírez-Pfeiffer C, López-Alvarenga JC. Redes sociales, aprendizaje automatizado y cladística en tiempos de COVID-19. Cir Cir. 2020;88(4):395–8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24875/CIRU.M20000065
Thon FM, Jucks R. Believing in expertise: How authors’ credentials and language use influence the credibility of online health information. Health Commun. 2017;32(7):828–36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2016.1172296
Londra F, Politti M, Saux G. ¿Confías en esta fuente?: Percepción de credibilidad de fuentes documentales y no-documentales en estudiantes universitarios. Psicol Unemi. 2020;4(7):40–52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29076/issn.2602-8379vol4iss7.2020pp40-52p
Losada AS. El presentador de noticias: las cualidades necesarias para una comunicación eficaz. Comunicar. 2005;(25):64.
Mayer RE. Applying the science of learning: Evidence-based principles for the design of multimedia instruction. Am Psychol. 2008;63(8):760–9. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.63.8.760. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.63.8.760
Burgess J. YouTube: Online video and participatory culture. John Wiley & Sons; 2018.
Guo PJ, Kim J, Rubin R. How video production affects student engagement: An empirical study of MOOC videos. In: Proceedings of the first ACM conference on Learning@ scale conference. ACM; 2014. p. 41–50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/2556325.2566239
Fairclough N. Analysing discourse. Vol. 270. Routledge; 2003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203697078
del Rio Carral M, Volpato L, Michoud C. ‘I wanted to share with you some of my healthy habits’: YouTubers’ staging of health-related practices. Psychol Health. 2024;39(1):68–90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2022.2057495
Urra-Medina E, Sandoval-Barrientos S. El análisis del discurso crítico en las investigaciones de salud. Enferm Univ. 2018;15(2):199–211. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22201/eneo.23958421e.2018.2.65176
Navaridas JAG. El vídeo, clave en una estrategia de comunicación en salud. COM Salud. 2014;20.
Ardila EC. El discurso audiovisual: Análisis sobre la pertinencia del término y propuesta para un modelo de evaluación de discursos. Comun Estud Venez Comun. 2019;(187):157–71.
Torres-Toukoumidis A, De Santis A. YouTube y la comunicación del siglo XXI. Quito: Ciespal; 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.16921/ciespal.14.21
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Angel Torres-Toukoumidis, Tatiana León-Alberca, Isidro Marín-Gutiérrez, Juan Chimbo-Sacoto, Janeth León-Alberca (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The article is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Unless otherwise stated, associated published material is distributed under the same licence.
