YouTube videos about ICDs are often poor quality with incomplete information
YouTube videos containing information about implantable cardioverter defibrillators were found to often be of poor quality, containing incomplete information about the device and potential outcomes, a speaker reported.
An analysis that evaluated the quality of information surrounding ICDs in YouTube videos was presented at the American College of Cardiology Quality Summit.
“It’s so important that patients have access to high-quality information because of how challenging it can be to interact with medical professionals,” Thomas J. Lee, MS, medical student at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia, said in a press release. “Oftentimes a patient will have to wait weeks or even months before they can confidently have their questions answered,” Lee said. “The issue is that on YouTube, so much of the informative videos seem like they’re high quality because of a hospital setting or doctor narrating, but in reality, the video fails to convey the complete picture of an ICD placement.”
To better gauge the quality of consumer health videos related to ICDs, researchers searched YouTube for videos using the term “Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator” and graded them using modified DISCERN criteria — a tool to evaluate the quality of consumer health information — and an electrophysiologist-reviewed novel content score.
Using a scale of 0 to 25, with higher scores indicating better-quality consumer health information, researchers used the following qualitative score cutoffs: very poor (< 9), poor (9-13), average (14-17), good (18-21) and excellent (22-25).
The electrophysiologist-reviewed novel content score was similar but ranged from 0 to 10.
Fifty YouTube videos about ICDs were included in the analysis, of which 29 were from academic medical centers, 13 were from medical device companies and eight were from independent uploaders.
Lee and colleagues determined that the overall quality of the consumer health information disseminated in YouTube videos was poor, with an average modified DISCERN score of 12.58 and an average novel content score of 3.68.
Videos created by medical device companies received lower modified DISCERN scores compared with those of academic medical centers (mean difference, 1.68) and independent uploaders (mean difference, 1.54; analysis of variance P = .011), according to the presentation.
Lee and colleagues found that 88% of videos included in the analysis failed to mention inappropriate ICD shock as a possible occurrence.
Additionally, researchers saw a positive association between video duration and modified DISCERN score (r = 0.3; P = .034) and novel content score (r = 0.45; P = .001); however, they observed no correlation between measures of video popularity and video quality.
“Patients are likely seeking out information about their medical conditions and procedures online primarily due to convenience and familiarity with the internet, particularly YouTube,” Lee said in the release. “Most people only have limited time to talk to a clinician about an ICD placement, so it would make sense that they would take to the internet to learn more about it. While we can’t stop our patients from getting information online, nor would we want to curtail their access to information about their conditions, it is important that the medical community work to ensure higher-quality information that provides a full picture of a treatment or procedure is available.”
References:
- Charnock D, et al. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1999;doi:10.1136/jech.53.2.105.
- Medical videos on YouTube often provide incomplete information. https://www.acc.org/About-ACC/Press-Releases/2022/09/14/14/04/Medical-Videos-on-YouTube-Often-Provide-Incomplete-Information. Published Sept. 14, 2022. Accessed Sept. 14, 2022.
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Lee TJ, et al. Presentation 2184630. Presented at: American College of Cardiology Quality Summit; Sept. 14-16, 2022; Los Angeles.