Assessing Laryngectomy Patient Education on YouTube: Investigating Quality and Reliability

Matthew E Lin; Oluwatobiloba Ayo-Ajibola; Carlos X Castellanos; Jonathan West; Neil Luu; Ian Kim; Niels C Kokot

doi:10.1002/oto2.113

Assessing Laryngectomy Patient Education on YouTube: Investigating Quality and Reliability

OTO Open. 2024 Jan 31;8(1):e113. doi: 10.1002/oto2.113. eCollection 2024 Jan-Mar.

Authors

Matthew E Lin¹, Oluwatobiloba Ayo-Ajibola¹, Carlos X Castellanos¹, Jonathan West², Neil Luu², Ian Kim^{3

4}, Niels C Kokot²

Affiliations

¹ Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California Los Angeles California USA.
² Caruso Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California Los Angeles California USA.
³ Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine Stanford University Stanford California USA.
⁴ Department of Kinesiology Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania USA.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to characterize the quality of laryngectomy-related patient education on YouTube and understand factors impacting video content quality.

Study design: Cross-sectional cohort analysis.

Setting: Laryngectomy-related videos on YouTube.

Methods: YouTube was anonymously queried for various laryngectomy procedure search terms. Video quality was evaluated using the validated DISCERN instrument which assesses treatment-related information quality. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize our cohort. Univariate and multivariable linear regression were used to assess factors associated with increased DISCERN score. Significance was set at P < .05.

Results: Our 78-video cohort exhibited moderate levels of engagement, averaging 13,028.40 views (SD = 24,246.93), 69.79 likes (SD = 163.75), and 5.27 comments (SD = 18.81). Videos were most frequently uploaded to accounts belonging to physicians (43.59%) or health care groups (41.03%) and showcased operations (52.56%) or physician-led education (20.51%). Otolaryngologists were featured in most videos (85.90%), and most videos originated outside the United States (67.95%). Laryngectomy videos demonstrated poor reliability (mean = 2.35, SD = 0.77), quality of treatment information (mean = 1.92, SD = 0.86), and overall video quality (mean = 1.97, SD = 1.12). In multivariable linear regression, operative videos were associated with lower video quality relative to nonoperative videos (β = -1.63, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [-2.03 to -1.24], P < .001); the opposite was true for videos from accounts with higher subscriber counts (β = 0.02, 95% CI = [0.01-0.03], P = .005).

Conclusion: The quality and quantity of YouTube's laryngectomy educational content is limited. There is an acute need to increase the quantity and quality of online laryngectomy-related content to better support patients and caregivers as they cope with their diagnosis, prepare for, and recover from surgery.

Keywords: YouTube; head and neck cancer; laryngeal cancer; laryngectomy; quality; reliability; social media.