1. : An Underutilized Method for Disseminating Quit Smoking Messages to Young Adults
Cathy L. Backinger, PhD, MPH1; Andrea Frydl, MHS, CHES1; Erik Augustson, PhD, MPH1; Alison Pilsner, MPH, CHES ,CPH1, Todd Phillips, MS2, Jessica Nadeau, MA2
1National Cancer Institute; 2Academy for Educational Development
Background Preliminary Results
• YouTube, a Google-owned video sharing website, is listed as the third most viewed website after Google.com and
Table 1: Videos about Quitting Smoking or Not by Search Term and by View Count and
Yahoo.com [1].
Relevance
• In July 2008 alone, it is estimated that over 5 billion videos were watched on YouTube [2].
y , []
• Every minute, an estimated 13 hours of new video is uploaded onto YouTube [3]. Relevance View C
Count
• For online video in general, 76% of users are young adults, ages 18 – 29 [4]. Stop Quit Smoking Stop Quit Smoking
• On a typical day, one third of this age group will watch an online video [4]. Smoking Smoking Cessation Smoking Smoking Cessation
• Understanding the phenomenon of online video-watching may be very important for communicating health (n = 52) (n = 45) (n = 42) (n = 53) (n = 44) (n = 47)
messages to key demographic groups. About Quitting 42 (81%) 31 (69%) 20 (48%) 27 (51%) 21 (48%) 26 (55%)
• Because of all this, YouTube has the potential to be a powerful information dissemination tool for health messages. Not About 10 (19%) 14 (31%) 22 (52%) 26 (49%) 23 (52%) 21 (45%)
However,
However little research is known about the content of smoking cessation-related videos on YouTube
cessation related YouTube.
Quitting
Methods
• YouTube was searched by relevance and view count in September 2008 using the search terms, “quit smoking, Table 2: Evidence-based (EB) Versus Non-Evidence-Based (NEB) Methods by Search Term
“stop smoking,” and “smoking cessation” (60 videos in each category = 360 total videos) and by View Count and Relevance
• Exclusion criteria before coding: video was not in English or blocked by NIH computers (final sample = 283) Relevance View Count
• Videos were coded on a number of dimensions assessing a breadth of content
Stop Quit Smoking Stop Quit Smoking
• Each video was coded by two different coders
Smoking Smoking Cessation Smoking Smoking Cessation
Discussion (n =42) (n = 31) (n = 20) (n = 27) (n= 21) (n = 26)
EB* 49 (62%) 41 (66%) 31 (76%) 23 (62%) 19 (63%) 39 (71%)
• The percent of videos not about quitting smoking ranged from 19-52%, depending on search term, which may
NEB* 30 (38%) 21 (33%) 10 (24%) 14 (38%) 11 (37%) 16 (29%)
impact viewers’ perceptions about smoking and quitting smoking.
• The majority of videos about quitting smoking were evidence-based however a substantial proportion were non-
evidence-based, Total Freq.
q 79 (100%)
( ) 62 (100%)
( ) 41 (100%)
( ) 37 (100%)
( ) 30 (100%)
( ) 55 (100%)
( )
evidence-based, highlighting the need to counter non-evidence-based approaches via YouTube. *Numbers are frequencies, content is not mutually exclusive
• Although the majority of videos featured a messenger under the (perceived) age of 40, the category with the
highest percentage (90%) was the smoking cessation category. Using messengers under the age of 40 may be Table 3: Perceived Age of Video Messenger by Search Term
salient for young adult smokers seeking information on quitting.
Relevance View Count
• Additional research needs to assess YouTube and other social media websites for utility of promoting smoking
cessation among young adult smokers. Ongoing and continuing research will examine video messenger Stop Quit Smoking Stop Quit Smoking
characteristics more thoroughly, viewers’ feedback about videos and their perceived popularity, and content Smoking Smoking Cessation Smoking Smoking Cessation
differences related to the source of the video. (n = 32) (n = 23) (n = 17) (n = 22) (n =17) (n = 21)
Over 40 9 (28%) 6 (26%) 1 (6%) 8 (36%) 6 (35%) 6 (29%)
References
Under 40 18 (56%) 12 (52%) 14 (82%) 10 (45%) 8 (47%) 13 (62%)
1. Alexa. Global Top Sites. 2009 [cited 2009 February 11]; Available from: http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_sites?ts_mode=global&lang=none.
2.
2 Comscore, I. Y T b D 5 Billion U S O li Vid Views in July 2008. 2008 [cited 2009 F b
C I YouTube Draw Billi U.S. Online Video Vi i J l 2008 [ it d February 11] A il bl f
11]; Available from: Multiple 4 (13%) 4 (17%) 2 (12%) 1 (5%) 0 2 (10%)
http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=2444.
3. Stelter, B., Some Media Companies Choose to Profit From Pirated YouTube Clips, in New York Times. August 15, 2008: New York, NY. Don’t know 1 (3%) 1 (4%) 0 3 (14%) 3 (18%) 0
4. Pew. (2009). Latest Trends: Charts and Excel Data Files of A Selection of the Pew Internet Project's Latest Findings. Pew Internet & American Life Project
Retrieved June 1, 2009, from http://www.pewinternet.org/trends.asp
Questions?
Contact: Andrea Frydl, MHS, CHES
frydlal@mail.nih.gov