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. 2024 Jul 24;32(8):540.
doi: 10.1007/s00520-024-08746-2.

YouTube videos on lymphedema as an information source for Spanish speaking breast cancer survivors

Maria Del Mar Fernandez-Alvarez  1   2 , Judit Cachero-Rodríguez  3   4 , Mei Rosemary Fu  5 , Paula Sánchez-Fernández  1 , Amalia Ureña-Lorenzo  6 , Ruben Martin-Payo  1   2
Affiliations

YouTube videos on lymphedema as an information source for Spanish speaking breast cancer survivors

Maria Del Mar Fernandez-Alvarez et al. Support Care Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer-related lymphedema in the upper limb remains one of the most distressful complications of breast cancer treatment. YouTube is considered a potential digital resource for population health and decision making. However, access to inadequate information or misinformation could have undesirable impacts. This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the reliability, quality and content of YouTube videos on lymphedema as an information source for Spanish-speaking breast cancer survivors.

Methods: A search of YouTube was conducted in January 2023 using the key words "breast cancer lymphedema" and "lymphedema arm breast cancer." Reliability and quality of the videos were evaluated using the Discern tool, content, source of production, number of likes, comments, views, duration, Video Power Index, likes ratio, view ratio and age on the platform.

Results: Amongst the 300 Spanish language videos identified on YouTube, 35 were selected for analysis based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of the 35 selected videos, 82.9% (n = 29) were developed by healthcare or academic professionals and 17.1% (n = 9) by others. Reliability (p < 0.017) and quality (p < 0.03) were higher in the videos made by professionals. The Discern total score (r = 0.476; p = 0.004), reliability (r = 0.472; p = 0.004) and quality (r = 0.469; p = 0.004) were positively correlated with the duration of the videos.

Conclusions: Our findings provide a strong rationale for educating breast cancer survivors seeking lymphedema information to select videos made by healthcare or academic professionals. Standardised evaluation prior to video publication is needed to ensure that the end-users receive accurate and quality information from YouTube.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Internet; Lymphedema; Patient education; YouTube.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of app search process
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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