False information being spread about vaccines and immunization, and people making uneducated medical decisions in general, is a bit of a pet peeve of ours. And word comes of a study, from the University of Toronto published in the latest Journal of the American Medical Association, that demonstrates what we’ve anecdotally experienced for years.
In the first-ever study of its kind, U of T researchers Kumanan Wilson and Jennifer Keelan analyzed 153 videos about vaccination and immunization on YouTube, a popular online video-sharing site. Researchers found that more than half of the videos portrayed childhood, HPV, flu and other vaccinations negatively or ambiguously. Of those videos, a staggering 45 per cent contained messages that contradict the 2006 Canadian Immunization Guide, which provides national guidelines for immunization practices.
“YouTube is increasingly a resource people consult for health information, including vaccination,” said first author Keelan, a professor in U of T’s Department of Public Health Sciences. “Our study shows that a significant amount of immunization content on YouTube contradicts the nation’s reference standard. From a public health perspective, this is very concerning.”
The research team also found that videos skeptical of vaccinations – many of them highly provocative and powerful – received more views and better ratings by YouTube users than those videos that portray immunizations in a positive light.