Evaluation of Educational Value of YouTube Videos for Patients with Coeliac Disease

Abstract

Coeliac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disease of the gastrointestinal tract that results from gluten in food. CD prevalence is about 0.71% in the United States (1 in 141). This is similar to the prevalence found in European countries and minority groups. Most of the affected persons were un-diagnosed with CD, especially those following gluten free diet [1]. CD was thought historically to be a rare disease. Rates of positive antibodies for CD in blood donors screening were approximately 1:133 in non-at-risk individuals [2,3]. The prevalence of CD in first-degree relatives is around 10% with significantly higher prevalence figures in monozygotic twins, families with multiple persons affected, or siblings whom share the HLA susceptibility alleles [4,5]. CD usually presents with gastrointestinal symptoms that appear at age 9-24 months after the introduction of gluten-containing foods. Many patients with CD present at a later age with subtle symptoms. Gastrointestinal symptoms may include abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation, bloating, and excessive gas. Diagnosis of CD is usually first suggested by the presence of tissue transglutaminase antibody, but established by biopsy of the small intestine by upper intestinal endoscopy [6]. Treatment of CD is lifelong avoidance of gluten. Complete elimination of gluten-containing grain products (including wheat, rye, and barley) is essential to treatment [7]. To facilitate elimination of gluten from the diet, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released rules providing uniform food-label definitions of (glutenfree) [8]. Avoidance of gluten-containing food is clearly dependent on patient education. Patient education sources are diverse; from handouts to web-based educational material. According to the results of a PwC Health Research Institute survey, a full one-third of U.S. consumers are using YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to find medical information [9]. YouTube is a popular open-access website that depends on video sharing. Videos in general are an easier educational tools than most printed materials. Nevertheless, YouTube is used as a medium for promoting unscientific therapies and drugs that are yet to be approved by the appropriate agencies and has the potential to change the beliefs of patients concerning controversial topics such as vaccinations [10]. We decided to evaluate the quality of patient education material delivered through YouTube videos. That helps bring a realistic idea on possible improvement in patient education resources.