Characteristics Assessment of Online YouTube Videos on Radiotherapy for Breast Cancer

Abstract

Background: Radiotherapy (RT) is an important component of breast cancer management but is underutilized due to barriers such as the lack of proper education. YouTube is commonly used for obtaining health information, yet the quality of information has been a previous concern. This study systematically evaluates the characteristics of educational YouTube videos on RT for breast cancer.

Materials and methods: A total of 200 YouTube videos were identified by recording the top 50 videos of 4 searches. Duplicates were removed, videos were rank ordered and screened against pre-determined inclusion criteria, then the first 50 videos were reviewed using a video assessment tool. Two independent reviewers were used. Positively skewed distributions were observed for most general parameters including views, likes, length and View Ratio.

Results: The USA (66%) or UK (20%) were the most common locations of publication. Publishers were frequently affiliated with health care facilities (48%) or non-profits (30%). The interview using a physician (68%) or patient (26%) was the most common media type, and B-roll footage with narration (48%) was the second most common. Most videos were targeted towards patients (96%), had comments (56%) and subtitles available (96%). The most common themes identified were Explaining RT (54%), Acute Side Effects (40%) and Patient Care Experience (32%).

Conclusion: This review is useful to inform the future development of video resources for health education in this topic. Though parameters were variable and inconsistently followed best practice guidelines, YouTube remains as a potentially important tool for the dissemination of health information.

Keywords: Guidelines; Medical Education; Online Health Information; Patient Education; Social Media.