Can YouTube Video on Urological Problems Be Used As An Additional Resource in Telemedicine During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Abstract

Objective: Various recommendations are being offered in order of priority in the diagnosis and treatment of urological diseases during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) period. Since it may not be possible to provide information to all patients through telemedicine, additional methods are needed to reach all patients. This study aimed to determine the reliability and quality of YouTube videos that provide information on urological disorders during the COVID-19 period. Another aim was to assess the most shared and most viewed videos on urological disorders on YouTube and their usability as an additional resource in telemedicine during the pandemic. Materials and Methods: From 17 February 2020, to 31 July 2020, the following keywords were used to search videos on YouTube: “covid urology”, “covid andrology”, “covid fertility”, “covid male infertility”, “covid prostate”, “covid bladder”, “covid kidney”, “covid renal”, “covid testis”, “covid cancer”, “covid coitus”, “covid sex”, “covid sperm” and “covid erectile”;“coronavirus” was also used instead of “covid”. In total, 232 videos were evaluated by two urologists according to video characteristics. The number of total views, views per day, likes, dislikes, comments, video length, date of video upload and duration on YouTube was recorded. Finally, a total of 136 relevant English videos were included in the study. A 5-point modified DISCERN tool was used to assess reliability, whereas a 5-point Global Quality score (GQS) was used to evaluate quality. Cohen’s kappa score was used to determine inter-rater agreement, while the intraclass correlation coefficient was used to evaluate inter-observer reliability. Results: All videos had a high DISCERN score [4, interquartile range (IQR) (3-5)] and GQS [5, IQR (4-5)] in general. Moreover, 20 (14.7%) videos containing information about “sexual life” and “effects of COVID-19 on sperm” were described as debated. Videos uploaded by “universities/ professional organisations/non-profit physician/physician groups” had higher scores (p<0.001). However, their rates of “number of views per day” (p=0.036) and “likes” (p<0.001) were lower. The majority of videos related to urology (63.9%) included conversations about andrological disorders. The median number of total views and number of views per day were also highest for videos related to andrology. Conclusion: Although andrological disorders are classified as a non-essential issue and andrological consultations are postponed during the COVID-19 period, the results show that the rate of YouTube videos related to andrology is even higher than uro-oncological diseases during this period. Therefore, it is important to share accurate and reliable information in this field. Our analysis shows that informative, easy-to-understand YouTube videos uploaded by “universities/professional organisations/non-profit physicians/physician groups” can be used as an additional method to telemedicine, especially for andrological disorders that do not require follow-up.