DOI: 10.62425/jmefm.1955916 ISSN: 3023-7793

Amblyopia Narratives in Turkish YouTube Videos: A Qualitative Analysis of Early Detection, Family Engagement, and Preventive Pediatric Eye Health

Nurcan Gürsoy, Büşra Çalışkan
Show PDF Cite
Objective: This study aimed to examine how amblyopia is represented in Turkish-language YouTube videos, focusing on early detection, routine pediatric eye care, family involvement, long-term consequences, and treatment-related narratives.Methods: This qualitative content analysis included publicly available Turkish-language YouTube videos on amblyopia. Searches were conducted on April 15, 2026, using six predefined Turkish keywords. Videos were eligible if they focused primarily on amblyopia and contained spoken explanatory content. Videos shorter than 1 minute, duplicate uploads, advertisement-oriented or product-promotional videos, eye exercise–only videos, nonnarrated videos, and videos in which amblyopia was mentioned only incidentally were excluded. After screening, 64 unique videos were analyzed. Transcripts were independently reviewed and inductively coded by two researchers, with disagreements resolved by consensus. Descriptive frequencies were used to summarize key content elements.Results: Early diagnosis, age-dependent treatment timing, and the consequences of delayed presentation were addressed in 56 of 64 videos. Routine pediatric eye examinations or age-specific follow-up recommendations appeared in 31 videos, while 19 emphasized parental awareness, care seeking, or treatment adherence. Twenty videos discussed long-term visual, functional, social, or occupational consequences. Treatment-related content was common: 59 videos mentioned at least one treatment approach, and 39 explicitly addressed occlusion therapy. Five themes were identified: amblyopia as an invisible risk, a narrow window for early diagnosis, family responsibility in care and adherence, preventable lifelong consequences, and a dual treatment narrative contrasting early-childhood certainty with limited hope at older ages.Conclusion: Turkish-language YouTube videos largely portray amblyopia as a silent but preventable childhood visual disorder requiring early recognition, regular pediatric eye assessment, and sustained family engagement. More precise public communication is needed regarding organized screening pathways and treatment expectations at older ages.

More from our Archive