COVID-19 Information on YouTube: Analysis of Quality and Reliability of Videos in Eleven Widely Spoken Languages across Africa.

Introduction: Whilst the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination rollout is well underway, there is a concern in Africa where less than 2% of global vaccinations have occurred. In the absence of herd immunity, health promotion remains essential. YouTube has been widely utilised as a source of medical information in previous outbreaks and pandemics. There are limited data on COVID-19 information on YouTube videos, especially in languages widely spoken in Africa. This study investigated the quality and reliability of such videos. Methods: Medical information related to COVID-19 was analysed in 11 languages (English, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Afrikaans, Nigerian Pidgin, Hausa, Twi, Arabic, Amharic, French, and Swahili). Cohen's Kappa was used to measure inter-rater reliability. A total of 562 videos were analysed. Viewer interaction metrics and video characteristics, source, and content type were collected. Quality was evaluated using the Medical Information Content Index (MICI) scale and reliability was evaluated by the modified DISCERN tool. Results: Kappa coefficient of agreement for all languages was p < 0.01. Informative videos (471/562, 83.8%) accounted for the majority, whilst misleading videos (12/562, 2.13%) were minimal. Independent users (246/562, 43.8%) were the predominant source type. Transmission of information (477/562 videos, 84.9%) was most prevalent, whilst content covering screening or testing was reported in less than a third of all videos. The mean total MICI score was 5.75/5 (SD 4.25) and the mean total DISCERN score was 3.01/5 (SD 1.11). Conclusion: YouTube is an invaluable, easily accessible resource for information dissemination during health emergencies. Misleading videos are often a concern; however, our study found a negligible proportion. Whilst most videos were fairly reliable, the quality of videos was poor, especially noting a dearth of information covering screening or testing. Governments, academic institutions, and healthcare workers must harness the capability of digital platforms, such as YouTube to contain the spread of misinformation.

Impacts of farmers' participation in social capital networks on climate change adaptation strategies adoption in Nigeria.

Most studies on climate change adaptation strategies adoption have focused on economic factors with little or no attention to the impact of collective actions and social capital networks. This paper investigates how farmers' participation in social capital networks influenced climate change adaptation strategies adoption in Nigeria. This study was carried out in the South-western Nigeria. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, binary probit regression, multinomial logit regression, endogenous switching regression and multinomial endogenous switching regression models. The results suggest that significant differences exist in the years of membership in the social capital networks, access to weather information and market between farm managers who adopted climate change adaptation strategies and those who did not. Plot managers who adopted climate change adaptation strategies are found to have obtained much mean yield and farm revenue than their counterparts. The results further show that participation in the social capital networks does not only significantly influence plot manager's decision to adopt but also influences the choice of climate change adaptation strategies adopted by farmers. The study concludes that a farmer who chooses to participate in social capital networks has a higher level of adopting climate change adaptation strategies than what a random farmer would have had in Nigeria. We recommend that policies aimed at increasing the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies among farmers should be channelled through locally organised farmers-based social capital networks.

Pre- and Post-Clerkship Knowledge, Perceptions, and Acceptability of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) in 3rd Year Medical Students.

To examine the impact of the third year psychiatry clerkship on medical students' knowledge and opinion of ECT at University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine. Despite overwhelming evidence of ECT's efficacy and safety for refractory affective illnesses, (among other conditions), it remains a misunderstood and underutilized intervention. Several studies indicate that ECT stigma and misinformation, unfortunately, does not spare the medical community. Medical students are an optimal group to study, as they are forming their perspectives on different specialties. Few studies have measured the effect of education programs (e.g., clerkships, lectures, observation of ECT) on medical students' perspectives on ECT.