Is YouTube a high-quality source of information on cancer rehabilitation?

Abstract

Searching for information on the Internet, especially YouTubeTM, is gaining popularity for cancer survivors. Based on the topic ofonline health information, the importance of studies using YouTube data for various cancer types and treatment methods hasincreased. This study aims to investigate the quality, reliability, and accuracy of YouTube videos on cancer rehabilitation (CR). YouTube search was performed on February 26th, 2021, with two keyword sets: "cancer rehabilitation" and "oncology rehabilitation." The modified DISCERN, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) scoring system, and the Global Quality Score (GQS) were used to evaluate the quality and reliability of the videos. The features of each video such as the number of likes, dislikes, and views, upload date, duration, like ratio, and the uploader profile were alsocollected. Fifty-three of the first 200 videos shown in the search results met the criteria. Most of the videos were low quality. The most common uploader profile was academic institute/university hospital. The three most common subjects in the videos were CR definition, physical therapy and occupational therapy, and patient experiences. The mean modified DISCERN, JAMA, and GQS scores were 2.14, 2.03, and 2.78, respectively. Higher quality videos had longer duration, greater number of views, and better reliability scores. The results showed that most of the rated videos were of low-quality and didn't provide sufficient information on the topic discussed. Higher-quality and more accurate YouTube videos are needed to increase awareness of CR. For cancer survivors, CR-related YouTube video content often provides information oflow reliability. In this context, it is necessary to focus on the production of video content that includes clinical guides, references, and are based onclinical-based practices.