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. 2024 Jul 2;11(7):814.
doi: 10.3390/children11070814.

Analysis of YouTube-Based Therapeutic Content for Children with Cerebral Palsy

Yerim Do  1 , Yunjae Oh  2 , Na Young Kim  3 , Juntaek Hong  1
Affiliations

Analysis of YouTube-Based Therapeutic Content for Children with Cerebral Palsy

Yerim Do et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Background/objectives: Cerebral palsy (CP) causes movement and posture challenges due to central nervous system damage, requiring lifelong management. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was limited access to facility-based treatments, which increased the demand for home-based therapies and digital resources. We analyzed the qualitative and quantitative aspects of YouTube videos focusing on CP therapy for children.

Methods: A total of 95 videos were evaluated for content quality using the modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) tool and Global Quality Scale (GQS). The therapeutic program efficacy was assessed via the International Consensus on Therapeutic Exercise and Training (i-CONTENT) tool, Consensus on Therapeutic Exercise Training (CONTENT) scale, and Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template (CERT), and popularity was measured by the video power index (VPI).

Results: YouTube-based therapeutic videos for children with CP generally exhibit reliability in video content and effectiveness in therapeutic programming, and no correlations were found between video popularity and quality. However, the qualitative analysis reveals insufficient mention of uncertainty in the treatment principles within the video content as well as a lack of detailed treatment descriptions encompassing aspects such as intensity, frequency, timing, setting, outcome measurement during and post-treatment, and safety considerations within therapeutic programs. In particular, this tendency was consistent regardless of the uploader's expertise level and the classification of the neuromotor therapy type in contrast to that of the exercise type.

Conclusions: YouTube-based content for CP children still has significant limitations in how substantive viewers, such as caregivers, can acquire tailored information and apply practical information to their exercise and treatment programs.

Keywords: YouTube; cerebral palsy; exercise; neuromotor therapy; quality; video.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart demonstrating the video selection process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Confusion matrix between types of neuromotor treatment modalities and exercises. The higher the percentage the occupies, the darker the shading used for visualization. Therapeutic types, such as Rood, Vojta approach, and aerobic, warm-up, and cool-down exercise, which were not represented in any of the videos, were excluded from the visualization.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Classification of assessment tools for video content and therapeutic programs. Abbreviations: mDISCERN, modified DISCERN; GQS, Global Quality Scale; i-CONTENT, International Consensus on Therapeutic Exercise and Training; CONTENT, Consensus on Therapeutic Exercise Training.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Correlation plots for the qualitative assessments of video content and therapeutic programs. Abbreviations: mDISCERN, modified DISCERN; GQS, Global Quality Scale; i-CONTENT, International Consensus on Therapeutic Exercise and Training; CONTENT, Consensus on Therapeutic Exercise Training; CERT, Consensus on Exercising Reporting Template.
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