The quality of YouTube videos on endoscopic third ventriculostomy and endoscopic third ventriculostomy with choroid plexus cauterization procedures available to families of patients with pediatric hydrocephalus

Validity and Usefulness of YouTube Videos Related to Endoscopic Transsphenoidal Surgery for Patient Information

Objectives  This article evaluates the completeness and accuracy of YouTube videos related to endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery (ETS) as a source for patient information. Design  YouTube was searched using relevant terms pertaining to ETS. Videos were evaluated independently by two physician reviewers experienced in ETS. Video demographics including uploader source along with validity scores based on predetermined checklists were captured. Setting  Internet. Participants  Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures  A novel ETS scoring checklist, the modified DISCERN criteria, and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark score were used to measure completeness and accuracy of videos. video power index (VPI) was calculated to reflect popularity. Intraclass correlation coefficient was calculated for rater agreement. Results  Seventy-nine videos were included in final scoring and analysis. The ETS score, DISCERN, JAMA, and mean VPI across all included videos were 5.0 ± 2.7, 2.4 ± 0.83, 2.19 ± 0.62, and 8.92 ± 18.1, respectively. Based on the ETS score checklist, 31 (39%) of the videos were rated as poor, 30 (38%) were moderately useful, 17 (22%) were useful, and 1 (1%) was exceptional. There was a significant positive correlation between the ETS, DISCERN, and JAMA scores ( p  < 0.001), but no correlation with VPI and the validity scores. There were no significant differences comparing validity scores based on the uploader source. Conclusion  YouTube videos related to ETS have limited usefulness and poor overall validity for patient information. Clinicians should direct patients to other validated sources of information and aim to improve the comprehensiveness of ETS-related videos.

Evaluating the Usefulness of YouTube as a Source of Patient Information for Neurosurgical Care in Africa: A Study Protocol

BACKGROUND

A significant proportion of the public rely on the internet for their health information, and social media has emerged as the principal information source. YouTube is the world's largest and most popular video library, and it has emerged as a primary health information source because it offers animated and interactive content. However, little is known of its usefulness of neurosurgery videos to African YouTube users. We aim with this study to evaluate the usefulness of YouTube as a source of patient information for neurosurgical care in Africa.

METHODOLOGY

This observational study will be conducted using YouTube. A search will be carried out to identify neurosurgery videos suggested to African YouTube viewers from inception to September 2021. An internet browser (Google Chrome, Google Inc., CA, USA) with its cache cleared will be used to execute the search. The default YouTube search setting of "relevance" will be used to replicate what a search attempt performed by a patient would be. The first 50 results from each keyword search will be registered in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (Microsoft, WA, USA). The primary outcome measure is the reliability of the videos. Data will be analyzed using SPSS version 26 (IBM, WA, USA). Odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals will be calculated. The statistically significant level will be set at 0.05. Also, a linear regression analysis will be performed to examine the effects of independent variables on continuous dependent variables.

DISSEMINATION

The study findings will be published in an academic peer-reviewed journal, and the abstract will be presented at an international conference. English and French visual and video abstracts of the methods and key findings will be designed and disseminated widely on social media.

HIGHLIGHTS

A significant proportion of the public rely on the internet and social media for health information.YouTube has emerged as the world's largest video library, and has emerged as a primary health information source.There are few safeguards to avoid dissemination of false or biased information on the platform this could negatively influence health seeking behaviorWe aim to evaluate the usefulness of YouTube as a source of patient information for neurosurgical care in Africa.The findings of this study will help evaluate the volume and quantity of African neurosurgical video content and identify best practices.

The Impact of Video-Based Educational Interventions on Cervical Cancer, Pap Smear and HPV Vaccines

Background: Video-based interventions have the potential to contribute to long-lasting improvements in health-seeking behaviours. Ghana's upsurge rate of information and communication technology usage presents an opportunity to improve the awareness of HPV vaccination and screening rates of cervical cancer among women in Ghana. This research aimed to assess the impact of video-based educational intervention centred on the Health Belief and Transtheoretical Models of behavioural changes in promoting HPV vaccination, cervical carcinoma awareness and willingness to have Pap smear test (PST) among women in Ghana. Methods: To achieve the intended sample size, convenient, purposive and stratified random sampling techniques were used. SPSS v. 23.0 was used in the data analysis. Percentages and frequencies were used to represent participants' demographic characteristics, knowledge of (1) cervical carcinoma, (2) human papillomavirus vaccine, and (3) Pap smear test. The chi-square test by McNemar was employed to evaluate variations in the post- and pre-intervention responses. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The level of significance was adjusted owing to multiple comparisons by using the Bonferroni's correction. Results: Before the intervention, 84.2% of the participant had some knowledge or information about cervical cancer, but after the intervention, 100% of the participant became aware of cervical cancer which represents 15.8% increment at a P < .001. The willingness to have a pap smear test increased from 35.8% to 94.2% (df = 58.4%, P < .001) after the educational intervention. The willingness to be vaccinated increased from 47.5% to 81.7% (df = 34.2%, P < .001) after the educational intervention. Six months after the intervention, participants were followed-up. 253 (42.2%) participants had gone for cervical cancer screening (Pap smear test) while 347 (57.8%) participants had not been screened. In terms of HPV vaccination, 192 participants (32.0%) had begun their HPV vaccination cycle. Conclusion: The study results show that health education, using videos, may be influential in perception changing, self-efficacy improvement and the understanding of cervical carcinoma screening and HPV vaccination.