The quality of YouTube videos on radiotherapy and prostatectomy for prostate cancer

Abstract

Introduction: Prostate cancer ranks as the third leading cause of death among Canadian men, and is primarily treated with radiotherapy and prostatectomy. Given YouTube's significant global traffic, patients often turn to it for information on treatment and side effects. This study assessed YouTube videos for prostate cancer patients, focusing on radiotherapy, prostatectomy, and side effect management. Methods: The study analyzed 50 YouTube videos, comparing their accuracy and coverage against the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), UpToDate, and cancer.ca. Two raters were involved in the review of the videos to ensure inter-rater reliability. Results: Video lengths ranged from 1–60 minutes (mean 11 minutes), and creation dates ranged from 2012–2021. Videos were presented by physicians, patients, or allied health professionals (75%, 16%, and 8%, respectively). Results showed physician presenters had a Video Power Index (video popularity) of 23.45, while patient presenters had an average of 61.36 (almost three times as popular as physician-led videos). The overall accuracy of videos showed that 82% demonstrated completely accurate and detailed information, 18% showed partially complete information, and 76% showed no biased information. No false information was found in any videos. Conclusions: This study showed that while the YouTube informational videos included good coverage of treatment side effects, there were gaps in information regarding quality of life after treatment or management of side effects. Information from this study can benefit the provider-patient interaction, with the hope that healthcare providers create more videos on quality of life after treatment and management of side effects to satisfy patient needs.