Abstract | December 20, 2021

YouTube as a Source of Information for Skin Graft Procedures

Presenting Author: Grant Bradley Torres, MS--Master of Biomedical Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch|Galveston|TX

Co-Authors: Trey Sledge, BS|Medical Student, UTMB School of Medicine|University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX Bradley Nus, BS|Medical Student, UTMB School of Medicine|University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX Sai Kamma, BS|Medical Student, UTMB School of Medicine|University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX Kylie Wu, BS|Medical Student, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine|University of Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX Sanjana Janumpally, BS|Medical Student, College of Osteopathic Medicine|Kansas City University--College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kansas City, MO Dr. Ludwik Branski, MD|Associate Professor, Department of Surgery|University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX Dr. Benjamin Yarbrough, MD|Resident, Department of Plastic Surgery|University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX

Learning Objectives

  1. Discuss the influence of social media as a conventional source of healthcare information amongst the general population.
  2. Recognize the gap spanning quality content and video popularity for medical procedures found on social media.
  3. Consider the importance of physician involvement in producing quality content for potential patients seeking healthcare information from online sources.

Background:
YouTube, the most popular video streaming service on the internet, has become a primary source of healthcare information for patients. Although YouTube videos about skin graft procedures have accrued millions of views, there lacks a publication defining their educational quality. With recent articles revealing the misleading nature of healthcare information on YouTube, this study aims to evaluate the quality of videos pertaining to skin graft procedures.

Methods:
YouTube was searched for various terms such as “Skin Graft Procedures” and “Skin Graft Surgery.” A total of 105 videos were assessed, with 21 being excluded based on preset criteria to assure content relevancy. Of the 84 videos assessed, 24 implicated skin graft procedures for burn injury repair. Four independent reviewers rated the material with the Global Quality Scale (GQS; 5 = highest quality, 1 = lowest quality) to judge educational value. Viewership, source, modality, and date of upload were also collected from each video and compiled for further analysis.

Results:
An average GQS of 2.60 was scored amongst all videos, with an average score of 2.52 for those implicating burn injuries. Videos uploaded by physicians (80.1%) had a significantly higher average GQS score than those not uploaded by physicians (p<0.01). When grouped by modality, patient-friendly delivery methods (animations, news reports, etc.) contained the lowest quality information, while physician-led presentations provided the highest educational value (p<0.01). Assessment of videos split into cohorts based on viewership noted a significantly higher GQS in videos with lower view counts (p<0.05). There was no correlation between upload date and quality.

Conclusion:
Overall, skin graft videos found on YouTube provide low quality information. This is especially true for the “popular” videos, where an inverse correlation was found between view count and GQS score. Likewise, patient-friendly videos received the lowest GQS scores amongst the cohorts. Alternatively, videos performed by physicians, most notably physician-led presentations, significantly improved the educational quality of videos pertaining to skin graft procedures. As patients increasingly utilize social media as a source of healthcare information, physicians must act to improve the quality of online content to better guide patients in navigating treatment options and making healthcare decisions.

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Posted in: Burn Medicine101
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