New ways for Canadian licensed healthcare professionals to engage and inform Canadians on YouTube

In the world of healthcare today, the doctor’s office is no longer the only place to find health information. Patients are turning to online spaces more and more as part of their health journey, from searching for resources about a new symptom, to seeking out communities going through similar experiences.

That’s why here at YouTube Health, we’ve been working on ways to make it easier for Canadians to find authoritative health information on the platform. A few years ago, we rolled out two product features to help people more easily navigate and evaluate health information. The first was adding health source information panels on videos to help viewers identify content from authoritative sources. The second was health content shelves which highlight videos from trusted health sources when Canadians search for specific health topics, like diabetes or breast cancer.

Now, we’re building on that work by opening up applications for Canadian licensed doctors, nurses, psychologists, and health organizations to make their channels eligible for our health product features. This means that licensed healthcare professionals will have health source information panels underneath their videos, to help viewers identify them as authoritative sources. And content from licensed healthcare providers will also be included and highlighted within health content shelves when Canadians search for health topics. This new step will allow us to expand YouTube’s health shelves to include high quality information from an even wider group of healthcare channels across Canada, and as a result, incorporate a greater diversity of voices.

This expansion follows our partnership work with leading healthcare institutions across the country, including CAMH, UHN, Horizon Health Network, SickKids and The Ottawa Hospital. We’re thrilled to see the high quality information they’re creating for local audiences.

"As a physician and content creator, I'm excited about these new health features that highlight trustworthy health advice from credible experts,” says Dr. Siobhan Deshauer. “I firmly believe that making accurate health information easier to find can help Canadians navigate our health care system and engage more effectively with their health care teams. My hope is that this initiative will enable viewers to take a more active and informed role in managing their health.”

In order for health professionals to be included, their channels will be reviewed against a set of principles developed by an expert panel convened by the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), the Council of Medical Speciality Societies (CMSS) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to determine their credibility.

Health professionals must meet the following criteria:

• You are licensed as a doctor, nurse, or mental health professional
• You must attest to the CMSS/NAM/WHO information sharing standards
• The YouTube channel has a minimum of 1,500 public watch hours on the channel in the last 12 months or 1.5 million valid public Shorts views in the past 90 days
• The YouTube channel is primarily focused on health information
• The YouTube channel has no active Community Guidelines strikes
• The YouTube channel is not operated by a pharmaceutical company, health insurer, or medical device company
• Application form (with full details on eligibility requirements) can be found here.

Effective communication is at the heart of improving people’s health, and we’re excited for this next phase in our work to connect Canadians with authoritative health information that is evidence-based and culturally relevant.