{"title":"YouTube as a Source of Patient Education in Medulloblastoma: How Reliable is It?","authors":"Eray Abat, Nimetullah Alper Durmus","doi":"10.1016/j.wneu.2025.124527","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant cerebellar tumor in children. With increasing health information-seeking behavior, YouTube has emerged as a popular source for patient education. However, the unregulated nature of its medical content raises concerns regarding accuracy and reliability.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To evaluate the quality, reliability, and popularity of YouTube videos related to medulloblastoma using validated assessment tools.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed the first 100 YouTube videos retrieved using the keyword \"medulloblastoma\" (June 26, 2025). After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 96 videos were evaluated. Data collected included video source, views, likes, comments, and age. Quality was assessed using the DISCERN instrument, JAMA benchmarks, and Global Quality Score (GQS). Non-parametric statistical tests and Spearman correlation were applied.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Videos originated primarily from the United States (45.8%), the United Kingdom (18.8%), and India (15.6%). Sources included private institutions (47.9%), public institutions (20.8%), physicians (12.5%), patient experiences (10.4%), and health channels (8.3%). Mean DISCERN, JAMA, and GQS scores were 56.39 ± 14.18, 2.68 ± 0.83, and 3.74 ± 0.89, respectively. Physician-uploaded videos had the highest quality scores (DISCERN: 62.88, GQS: 4.13; p < 0.001), whereas patient-experience videos scored lowest. Popularity metrics showed no significant correlation with quality scores.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Medulloblastoma-related YouTube videos generally exhibit moderate-to-high quality, with physician and public institution uploads providing the most reliable information. Given the weak association between popularity and quality, healthcare professionals and institutions should actively contribute accurate, evidence-based content to improve online health literacy.</p>","PeriodicalId":23906,"journal":{"name":"World neurosurgery","volume":" ","pages":"124527"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"World neurosurgery","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wneu.2025.124527","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"CLINICAL NEUROLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant cerebellar tumor in children. With increasing health information-seeking behavior, YouTube has emerged as a popular source for patient education. However, the unregulated nature of its medical content raises concerns regarding accuracy and reliability.
Objective: To evaluate the quality, reliability, and popularity of YouTube videos related to medulloblastoma using validated assessment tools.
Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study analyzed the first 100 YouTube videos retrieved using the keyword "medulloblastoma" (June 26, 2025). After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 96 videos were evaluated. Data collected included video source, views, likes, comments, and age. Quality was assessed using the DISCERN instrument, JAMA benchmarks, and Global Quality Score (GQS). Non-parametric statistical tests and Spearman correlation were applied.
Results: Videos originated primarily from the United States (45.8%), the United Kingdom (18.8%), and India (15.6%). Sources included private institutions (47.9%), public institutions (20.8%), physicians (12.5%), patient experiences (10.4%), and health channels (8.3%). Mean DISCERN, JAMA, and GQS scores were 56.39 ± 14.18, 2.68 ± 0.83, and 3.74 ± 0.89, respectively. Physician-uploaded videos had the highest quality scores (DISCERN: 62.88, GQS: 4.13; p < 0.001), whereas patient-experience videos scored lowest. Popularity metrics showed no significant correlation with quality scores.
Conclusion: Medulloblastoma-related YouTube videos generally exhibit moderate-to-high quality, with physician and public institution uploads providing the most reliable information. Given the weak association between popularity and quality, healthcare professionals and institutions should actively contribute accurate, evidence-based content to improve online health literacy.
期刊介绍：
World Neurosurgery has an open access mirror journal World Neurosurgery: X, sharing the same aims and scope, editorial team, submission system and rigorous peer review.
The journal''s mission is to:
-To provide a first-class international forum and a 2-way conduit for dialogue that is relevant to neurosurgeons and providers who care for neurosurgery patients. The categories of the exchanged information include clinical and basic science, as well as global information that provide social, political, educational, economic, cultural or societal insights and knowledge that are of significance and relevance to worldwide neurosurgery patient care.
-To act as a primary intellectual catalyst for the stimulation of creativity, the creation of new knowledge, and the enhancement of quality neurosurgical care worldwide.
-To provide a forum for communication that enriches the lives of all neurosurgeons and their colleagues; and, in so doing, enriches the lives of their patients.
Topics to be addressed in World Neurosurgery include: EDUCATION, ECONOMICS, RESEARCH, POLITICS, HISTORY, CULTURE, CLINICAL SCIENCE, LABORATORY SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, OPERATIVE TECHNIQUES, CLINICAL IMAGES, VIDEOS
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