Evaluating YouTube Videos as a High-Quality Educational Resource for
Patients Contemplating Receiving Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators
Abstract
Introduction Patients increasingly use online sources to research
treatment options and YouTube is the most used online video source. An
estimated 40% of Americans watch YouTube videos regarding health and
medicine; however, YouTube is unregulated and non-peer-reviewed. Methods
We searched for YouTube videos using the term “Implantable Cardioverter
Defibrillator.” Videos were categorized by uploader type and assessed
using two methodologies: the modified DISCERN criteria (range: 0-25) and
an electrophysiologist-reviewed Novel ICD (NI) score (range: 0-10).
Qualitative score cut-offs were implemented stratifying the videos as:
very poor, poor, average, good, and excellent. Secondary outcomes such
as measures of popularity, duration, and audio-visual quality were
collected and analyzed. Results Overall video quality was poor and
highly variable across both scoring systems: mean modified DISCERN =
13.19±5.12; mean NI score = 4.09±2.56. Videos uploaded from academic
institutions had a significantly higher modified DISCERN score than
medical device companies, 13.97 (±4.59) vs. 9.039 (±5.16) (p=0.011). A
significant positive correlation was found between video duration and
both NI score (r=0.77, p<0.001) and modified DISCERN criteria
(r=0.57, p<0.001). None of the metrics of video popularity
correlated with video quality. Conclusion YouTube videos regarding ICDs
available to patients were of a low and highly-variable quality. Factors
such as uploader type, duration, and search position correlated with
video quality. Although longer videos were more informative, videos that
were optimal in length for attention (6 to 9 minutes) were variable in
quality. More popular videos were not of higher quality, indicating that
video preference by patients can be flawed.