Original Article
Quality of Online Video Resources Concerning Patient Education for the Meniscus: A YouTube-Based Quality-Control Study

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arthro.2019.07.033Get rights and content

Purpose

To evaluate the reliability and educational content of YouTube videos concerning the menisci.

Methods

YouTube was queried using the keyword “meniscus.” The first 50 videos were evaluated. Eleven video characteristics were extracted, and videos were categorized by source and content. Video reliability was assessed using the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria (score range, 0-5). Video educational content was assessed using the Global Quality Score (GQS; score range, 0-4) and a meniscus-specific score (MSS; score range, 0-20).

Results

The mean video duration was 551.44 ± 1,046.04 seconds (range, 75-7,282 seconds). The mean number of views was 288,597.7 ± 735,275.9. Collectively, the 50 videos accrued 14,141,285 views. The mean JAMA score, GQS, and MSS were 1.55, 2.12, and 3.67, respectively. The video source was predominately non–physician based (24.49% of source uploaders), whereas video content was predominately concerned with disease information (37.50% of content). Significant between-group effects were observed for the JAMA score and video content (P = .0155), with videos concerning disease information, exercise training, and nonsurgical intervention having the highest mean JAMA scores. Significant between-group effects were also observed for the JAMA score based on video upload source (P < .001), with videos uploaded by physicians receiving the highest mean JAMA scores. The mean GQS and MSS were significantly greater for videos categorized as having disease-specific content (P = .0377 and P = .0404, respectively) and for physician video uploaders (P = .0133 and P = .0100, respectively). The number of video dislikes was a negative independent predictor of the JAMA score (β = –0.007, P = .003). Disease-specific content was a positive independent predictor of the GQS (β = 1.13, P = .042). There were no independent predictors of the MSS.

Conclusions

Information on the meniscus found in YouTube videos is of low quality and reliability.

Clinical Relevance

Orthopaedic health practitioners should caution patients about the inaccuracy of YouTube videos regarding the meniscus given the low quality of content. These health care providers should make efforts to provide patients with higher-quality alternatives.

Section snippets

YouTube Query and Video Characteristics

The YouTube online library (https://www.youtube.com) was queried using the keyword “meniscus” on April 22, 2019. The first 50 videos populated based on this keyword were recorded for evaluation (Fig 1), which has been reported to be a feasible method of video selection in the literature.2

The following video characteristics were extracted for each YouTube video concerning the meniscus: (1) title, (2) video duration, (3) number of views, (4) video source/uploader, (5) type of content, (6) days

Results

Of the initial 50 videos generated by the YouTube search, 3 were audio soundtracks and were excluded from the analysis. Therefore, an additional 3 videos were evaluated. All videos were in the English language. The mean video duration was 551.44 ± 1,046.04 seconds (range, 75-7,282 seconds). The mean number of views was 288,597.7 ± 735,275.9, and collectively, the 50 videos were viewed 14,141,285 times. The mean view ratio was 302.02 ± 613.66. The mean number of days since upload was 1,220.65 ±

Discussion

The principal findings of this study were as follows: (1) Videos concerning the meniscus are highly watched on YouTube, receiving a total of 14,141,285 views of only the first 50 videos populated from the keyword “meniscus”; (2) the mean JAMA score is 1.55, indicating low reliability, whereas the mean GQS and MSS are 2.12 and 3.67, respectively, indicating low educational quality; (3) most meniscus video content is disease specific, and in terms of video upload sources, most videos are

Conclusions

Information on the meniscus found in YouTube videos is of low quality and reliability.

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The authors report the following potential conflicts of interest or sources of funding: N.N.V. receives research support from Arthrex, Breg, Össur, and Wright Medical Technology; receives publishing royalties and financial and material support from Arthroscopy and Vindico Medical-Orthopedics Hyperguide; owns stock in Cymedica and Omeros; is a paid consultant for Minivasive; and receives IP royalties from Smith and Nephew. Full ICMJE author disclosure forms are available for this article online, as supplementary material.

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