Sickle Cell Disease Stories on YouTube: A Comparison of Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, and Kenya

Abstract

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of blood disorders common across Sub-Saharan Africa. Countries such as Nigeria and Ghana have a high prevalence of the inherited condition, which causes, for most patients, severe pain during a crisis and can lead to serious complications, such as anaemia and stroke. This study examines messaging about SCD in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and Uganda posted on YouTube. It used DISCERN and Global Quality Score instruments to analyse a total of 58 videos from the four countries. Most were from news organizations. The most common DISCERN and Global Quality Score was a 3, which means the basic background information provided was not extensive but still useful. There was an association between the type of message and video uploader (Fisher's exact, p = 0.0001). However, no significant associations were found between the type of message and country (Fisher's exact, p = 0.219), using overall DISCERN and video uploader (Fisher's exact, p = 0.485), or using global quality score and video uploader (Fisher's exact, p = 0.818). The videos analysed not only gave the public some medical information but also addressed some of the social issues associated with SCD and helped to increase public awareness of the disease