Evaluating the quality and reliability of youtube videos on Hirschsprung's disease: a comprehensive analysis for patients, parents and health professionals.

PURPOSE

This study aims to evaluate the quality and reliability of the informational and surgery-oriented content of YouTube videos on Hirschsprung's disease.

METHODS

On October 1, 2024, a YouTube search was conducted on Hirschsprung's disease, and 60 videos with over 10,000 views were included in the study. The reliability and quality of the videos were assessed by two independent pediatric surgeons using the Global Quality Scale (GQS), Modified DISCERN (mDISCERN), and American Medical Association (JAMA) scales. VPI was calculated as (like ratio × view ratio)/100, where view ratio refers to the number of views per day since the video's upload date.

RESULTS

Of the 60 videos, 53 (88.3%) were informational, while 9 (11.7%) were surgery-oriented. Videos were uploaded by private hospitals (15%), physicians (31.7%), and private youtube channels (53.3%). Thirteen videos (21.7%) utilized animations. The mean video length was 640.5 ± 729.8 s, with an average view count of 83,728 ± 265,503 and a mean VPI of 49.8 ± 157.4. The average mDISCERN score was 2.53 ± 0.98, the GQS score was 2.52 ± 1.2, and the JAMA score was 2.55 ± 0.53. Although weak, statistically significant positive correlations were observed between VPI and quality scores (mDISCERN: r = 0.32, P = 0.014; GQS: r = 0.26, P = 0.048; JAMA: r = 0.34, P = 0.008), suggesting that more popular videos tended to be of slightly better quality. Older videos were associated with lower quality scores (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

This study revealed that YouTube videos related to Hirschsprung's disease are generally of low quality. This situation increases the risk of patients and their families being exposed to misleading or incomplete information.