Quality assessment of YouTube videos as a source of information on Colonoscopy

Abstract

Background: Wide variability exists in quality of health related information posted across social media. You Tube is the most frequently visited site for video informatics. In this study we assessed the quality of information available on YouTube regarding colonoscopy. Methods: The YouTube search engine was queried on Oct 21, 2014 under the term “Colonoscopy”. Analysis was restricted to English language, medical videos of first 10 pages of search results, generating a total of 186 videos. Videos were classified into 8 categories: intra-procedure videos, patient education, healthcare provider education, patient testimonial, public awareness, post colonoscopy patient videos, patients having colonoscopy and unrelated videos. Number of views and viewer ratings were noted. Results: Of the 186 videos reviewed: 41 were intra-procedure videos, 34 were patient education, 27 related to health care provider education, 24 were patient testimonials, 22 aimed at raising public awareness, 15 were post colonoscopy videos, 3 videos depicted patients undergoing colonoscopy and 20 unrelated. The maximum number of views was generated for intra-procedure videos followed by the videos of patients undergoing colonoscopy, although this category only had 3 videos. The ratio of likes over dislikes was highest for patient testimonials. Conclusion: Patients searching for information regarding colonoscopy on YouTube will be presented with a sizeable, overall poor quality and non peer reviewed content. The study highlights the need on YouTube for evidence based, easy to understand videos addressing various aspects of colonoscopy, possibly sponsored by professional medical societies.