Evaluating YouTube Videos With Prophylactic Mastectomy Content in Terms of Their Quality and Reliability

Aim: Purpose of this study is to investigate the quality and reliability of YouTube video contents on prophylactic mastectomy. Material and Methods: The search terms "prophylactic mastectomy," "prophylactic mastectomy surgery," "preventive surgery for breast cancer," "risk-reducing mastectomy," and "prophylactic mastectomy and breast reconstruction" were searched on YouTube. The uploader, video content, length (seconds), upload date, number of days since upload date, number of views, number of comments, and likes were recorded and evaluated. Finally, the videos included in the study were evaluated using modified Quality Criteria for Consumer Health Information (DISCERN) and Global Quality Scale (GQS). Results: The total number of views of the 50 videos reviewed in the study was found as 3.674.469. The mean DISCERN score of the two observers was calculated as 3.35 ± 1, and the videos were found to be of medium reliability. The mean GQS score of all videos was 3.39 ± 0.9 and the videos were of medium quality. The researchers gave 1-2 points (misleading) to 7 (14%) videos, 3 points (somewhat helpful) to 20 (40%) videos, 4 points (beneficial) to 16 (32%) videos, and 5 points (excellent) to 7 (14%) videos. Conclusion: In our study, we found that the videos uploaded by doctors were of good quality, the videos uploaded by health channels were of medium quality, and the videos uploaded by patients were of poor quality and misleading. The videos with health contents should be evaluated by the relevant specialists, and only useful videos should be broadcast.