Evaluating the quality and reliability of oncologic breast reconstruction videos on youtube

Oncologic breast reconstruction (OBR) is a complex process that requires consideration of multiple factors, including chemoradiation, extent of cancer treatment, and surgical approach. Patients often feel uncertain about the numerous surgical options and may turn to popular social media platforms like YouTube for information. Thus, this study aims to assess the quality and reliability of YouTube videos related to OBR. We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of YouTube videos related to OBR. Search terms were obtained from plasticsurgery.org and Google Trends. The first ten videos for each search term were analyzed. Videos were categorized by source and subject matter and independently reviewed by three evaluators using the DISCERN scale. This study examined 172 YouTube videos. Five video source categories were identified: Health Care Administrations, Physicians, Non-physician Providers, News Organizations, and Patients. Health Care Administration accounts received the highest overall DISCERN score of 3.6 ± 0.51, followed by Physicians at 2.98 ± 0.93, with News Organization accounts scoring the lowest at 2.22 ± 0.60 (p < 0.001). Videos from academic sources (Physicians and Health Care Administrators) had higher DISCERN scores compared to non-academic sources (News Organizations and Patients), 2.98 ± 0.95 versus 2.28 ± 0.77, respectively (p < 0.001). Our findings indicate that videos from academic sources generally exhibit higher DISCERN scores, pointing to a higher content quality and reliability standard. Given the increasing reliance on YouTube for healthcare information, our study underscores the need for healthcare professionals to engage more actively in content creation and dissemination.