YouTube as a Source of Patient Information for Hydrocephalus: A Content-Quality and Optimization Analysis

YouTube is the second most popular Web site in the world and thus it is often used by patients to access health information regarding their condition(s). Our aim was to evaluate the content-quality of YouTube videos relating to hydrocephalus.

We chose the first 35 videos for 4 different search phrases: "water on the brain," "hydrocephalus," "pediatric hydrocephalus," and "adult hydrocephalus." Video contents were evaluated by 2 independent final-year medical students with >5 years of experience using the DISCERN criteria (scoring system from 1 to 5 per question). Qualitative data, quantitative data, and the upload source about each video were recorded for quality and optimization analysis.

Of the total 140 videos, 63 met our inclusion criteria and were evaluated. The mean DISCERN score was 29.9 of a total of 75 possible points. This finding indicates that the quality of YouTube videos on hydrocephalus is poor. Reliability between the 2 raters was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.96). Most videos had clear information (90%), a doctor speaking (70%), and described the symptoms (62%). Videos were most commonly uploaded by hospitals (44%) or by educational channels (43%). Our study found that videos that contained the results of treatment had a higher average daily view (P = 0.0229) than videos that did not.

The quality of YouTube videos on hydrocephalus is poor; however, we indicated the top-quality videos in our article because they may be effective tools for patient education. Our optimization analysis found that including diagrams and explaining the results of hydrocephalus treatment leads to higher audience engagement (in the form of likes, comments, and views).