Are DISCERN and JAMA Suitable Instruments for Assessing YouTube Videos on Thyroid Cancer? Methodological Concerns

The incidence of thyroid cancer continues to increase worldwide. The challenge facing the treatment of thyroid cancers is related to the fact that this disease exhibits a broad range of clinical behaviour from indolent tumour to very aggressive malignancies. Therefore, the public and patient education about thyroid cancer are becoming a crucial step in facing the challenge imposed by this cancer. Currently, social media channels such as YouTube, a video-sharing website on the Internet, play a significant role in public and patient education. Research on the part of YouTube in public education about cancer is on the rise, including a paper on thyroid cancer published recently in the Journal of Cancer Education. However, researchers conducting studies should use tools that are designed to assess videos, not written information or websites. DISCERN instrument and JAMA benchmark tools are not intended to evaluate videos such as those of YouTube. An ideal instrument for assessing YouTube should cover several parameters to identify educationally useful videos, including (i) scientific accuracy of video content, (ii) clarity of the massage given, (iii) authority (creator), (iv) pedagogy and educational basis and (v) technical design, including quality images and good visuals, production style, quality scripts, clear sounds and no noises in the background. While video images help in reinforcing the words and the message, both picture and sound quality are vital in creating a strong mental impression and engaging the audience. This commentary calls for the development of a standardised protocol that can help researchers to enhance their research publications and ensure that adequate and accurate data have been collected and analysed. Such a move will help us in establishing the right literature in this area and will help researchers conducting reviews and meta-analysis on YouTube videos.