Varicocele on YouTube: an evaluation of reliability, quality and actionability of the most-viewed videos Varicocele en YouTube: una evaluación de la fiabilidad, calidad y aplicabilidad de los vídeos más vistos
Revista Internacional de Andrologia, cilt.23, sa.3, ss.72-78, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 23 Sayı: 3
- Basım Tarihi: 2025
- Doi Numarası: 10.22514/j.androl.2025.032
- Dergi Adı: Revista Internacional de Andrologia
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, EMBASE, MEDLINE, DIALNET
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.72-78
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Varicocele, Patient education, Videos, Internet, Quality of health care
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Background: Varicocele is a common cause of male infertility, and many patients seek information about it online. YouTube has become a widely used platform for medical education, but concerns persist regarding the accuracy and quality of its content. Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated the 50 most-viewed English-language YouTube videos related to varicocele. Videos were assessed using four validated tools: DISCERN, the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials (PEMAT A/V), Global Quality Score (GQS), and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria. Additionally, the accuracy of the medical content was rated using a 5-point Likert scale based on the European Association of Urology’s patient guidelines. Results: The 50 videos accumulated 15,706,250 views, with the top 10 accounting for 73% of the total view count. The average information level was intermediate (Likert score: 2 ± 1.19). Surgical treatment was the most commonly presented option (76%), followed by traditional medicine (18%). Videos with higher information quality were significantly longer (p = 0.049) and had higher DISCERN, GQS, JAMA and PEMAT scores (p < 0.05). The strongest correlation was found between information quality and PEMAT-Understandability (r2 = 0.687, p < 0.001). Although the top 10 videos had higher view counts, they did not differ significantly in quality, except for a higher PEMAT-Actionability score (p = 0.024). Conclusions: Most highly viewed YouTube videos on varicocele offer only moderate-quality information. Popularity does not equate to educational value. There is a need for healthcare professionals to produce and promote accurate, actionable and high-quality online educational materials for patients.