Content Quality and Audience Engagement Analysis of Online Videos for Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion

Piotr Stogowski; Lukasz Antkowiak; Rafał Trzciński; Marta Rogalska; Natalia A Dułak; Karolina Anuszkiewicz; Wojciech Kloc

doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2022.01.102

Content Quality and Audience Engagement Analysis of Online Videos for Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion

World Neurosurg. 2022 Apr:160:e636-e642. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2022.01.102. Epub 2022 Jan 30.

Authors

Piotr Stogowski¹, Lukasz Antkowiak², Rafał Trzciński³, Marta Rogalska⁴, Natalia A Dułak³, Karolina Anuszkiewicz⁵, Wojciech Kloc⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, Copernicus Hospital in Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland. Electronic address: stogowski@gumed.edu.pl.
² Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.
³ Saint Vincent de Paul Hospital, Gdynia, Poland.
⁴ Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
⁵ University Clinical Center in Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland.
⁶ Department of Neurosurgery, Copernicus Hospital in Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland; Department of Psychology and Sociology of Health and Public Health, School of Public Health, Collegium Medicum, University of Warmia - Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland.

PMID: 35108648
DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2022.01.102

Abstract

Objective: For the majority of patients, the Internet constitutes the first source of health information influencing their medical decision-making. We aimed to assess the quality of the online videos regarding anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF).

Methods: YouTube database was searched using 3 different phrases: "anterior lumbar interbody fusion", "ALIF", and "ALIF surgery". The first 50 videos for each phrase were selected. Video content was evaluated by 3 independent researchers using the DISCERN instrument. Qualitative data, quantitative data, and the source of upload were analyzed.

Results: A total of 24 videos were included. The mean DISCERN score was 38.21, indicating the poor quality of ALIF videos on YouTube. Video duration was positively correlated with DISCERN score (r = 0.71, P < 0.001) but not with the video power index (VPI). A negative correlation between time since upload and DISCERN score (r = -0.8 P < 0.001) was found. Furthermore, videos containing surgical complications, risk factors, and postoperative prognosis had a significantly higher DISCERN score. Neither DISCERN score nor a VPI correlated with the presence of intraoperative recordings. Videos including the explanation of the spine anatomy had a significantly higher number of likes (P = 0.018).

Conclusions: Despite the increasing educational value of ALIF videos over time, the overall quality of YouTube videos on ALIF remains poor. However, the majority of videos can be recommended to the patient as an informative source of basic knowledge on the surgical details of the ALIF procedure. Longer video duration increases its quality without simultaneous negative influence on its popularity.

Keywords: Anterior lumbar interbody fusion; Spinal fusion; YouTube.

MeSH terms

Humans
Information Dissemination / methods
Internet
Reproducibility of Results
Social Media*
Video Recording