Analysis of the Most Viewed First 50 Videos on YouTube about Breast Cancer

Abstract

Objective. Breast cancer is the most common cancer type among women worldwide. Today, health consumers search the Internet to gain health information about many diseases including breast cancer. YouTube™ is the second most commonly used website on the Internet. However, the quality and accuracy of health-related YouTube™ videos are controversial. The objective of this study was to investigate the quality and accuracy of breast cancer-related videos on YouTube™. Material and Methods. “Breast cancer” keyword was entered into YouTube™ search bar, and after excluding advertisement, duplicate, and non-English videos, the first most viewed 50 videos were analyzed. Videos’ length, the number of views, comments, likes, and dislikes were recorded. DISCERN and JAMA scores and Video Power Index (VPI) values of the videos were calculated. All videos were evaluated by two independent radiologists experienced on breast cancer. The correlation between the two observers was also analyzed. Results. Of all videos, 14% were uploaded by physicians, 26% by health channels, 20% by patients, 10% by news channels, 2% by herbalists, 2% by blog channels, and 2% by nonprofit activism channels. The mean DISCERN score was calculated as 26.70±10.99 and the mean JAMA score as 2.23±0.97. The mean VPI value, which was calculated to determine the popularity of the videos, was found as 94.10±4.48. A strong statistically significant correlation was found between the two observers in terms of both DISCERN and JAMA scores. There was an excellent agreement between the two observers. Conclusion. The overall quality of the viewed videos was found as poor. Healthcare professionals should be encouraged to upload breast cancer-related videos with accurate information to promote patients for screening and direct them appropriately.

Evaluation of YouTube Video Content Related to the Management of Hypoglycemia

“…We found that only three of the 50 videos we examined were uploaded by patients and all of these contained misleading content. However, it was also reported that videos uploaded by patients were viewed and liked more than videos uploaded by professionals in some previous studies [ 10 , 12 ].…”

“…The reasons for this were that the video content uploaded by health channels and hospital channels was not sufficiently up to date, the information was not given at a sufficient level, the use of medical terms that could not be understood by the viewers, and the promotion of the specific health institution. In the study conducted by Yurdaisik, it was determined that the videos uploaded by health channels were also of medium quality [ 10 ]. Similarly, in the studies conducted by Kuru et al [ 12 ] and Aydin et al [ 11 ], videos uploaded by health channels were reported to be of medium quality.…”

“…It has also been reported in previous studies that the videos uploaded by physicians are of high quality and safe [ 28 , 29 ]. However, there are also studies reporting that the videos uploaded by the physicians are not of sufficient quality either [ 10 , 12 ]. When the findings of our study and the results of the previously reported studies are examined, it becomes clear that health-related videos should only be uploaded by physicians.…”

“…However, studies on this subject in the literature indicate that patients believe that the information they obtain on the Internet is at least as reliable as the doctors' [ 9 ]. Many previous studies have reported that the quality of health-related videos on YouTube is low or medium quality [ 10 - 12 ]. These results show that health-related videos on YouTube need to be supervised.…”

Reliability and Quality of YouTube Contents Pertaining to Pancreatic Cancer

“…In the past, various studies have been carried out to investigate the quality and reliability of video contents related to health issues uploaded to YouTube and whether they are beneficial for patients [ 12 , 13 ]. However, we did not find any study on PC in our literature search.…”