Assessment of Quality and Reliability of Electroconvulsive Therapy Videos Available on YouTube

Abstract

Objective: ECT is still an important treatment modality in contemporary psychiatry. Despite the evidence regarding its efficacy and safety, patients are hesitant about ECT, which is sometimes stigmatized due to disinformation. Today, YouTube, an online media platform, is mostly used as a medical information source. This study investigated the quality and reliability of electroconvulsive therapy videos available on YouTube. Methods: A video search on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com) was conducted on 20 October 2020, using the keywords electroconvulsive therapy schizophrenia, electroconvulsive therapy depression, and electroconvulsive therapy psychiatric disorders in this descriptive study. After applying the exclusion criteria, a total of 79 videos were included in this study. The Global Quality Scale (GQS) was used to assess educational quality and the modified DISCERN tool was used to assess reliability. Video parameters (the numbers of views, likes, dislikes, and comments for per day) were compared among the low/medium/high quality groups. Results: 45.2% (n: 42) of the videos were of low quality, 25.8% (n: 24) were of medium quality and 14% (n: 13) were of high quality. High-quality videos were 38.5% from psychiatrists, 23.1% from academic resources, 23.1% from health-related websites. Modified DISCERN scores were higher in the high quality video group (p