In 2020, an editorial in a medical journal observed, “As the Internet is now an established platform and easily accessible, patients are increasingly seeking information from websites out of curiosity and for additional questions pertaining to their health condition.”[i] Well, sure. What could be more efficient than sitting in front of your home or office computer in order to consult an Artificial Intelligence chatbot or an online support forum about some odd little symptom you’re having?
Assuming you trust the results of your search, it becomes the basis for deciding whether or not to schedule the inconvenience and possible expense of an appointment with your own doctor, either in person or by telehealth.
Even more enticing than reading search results or the experience/opinions posted on forums like reddit is youtube. After all, videos can be engaging, even captivating. As of September, 2024 there are nearly 4 billion videos on youtube, which is about 800 million more than 12 months earlier. It’s not easy to pin down what percentage of youtube videos contain medical content, but studies of medical videos have shown that the quality and accuracy of the information offered varies widely. Those likely to offer valid educational content have been posted by academic centers, doctors in active practice, and hospital systems, but they are in the minority. “The majority of studies identified a large number of videos, ranging from 235 to 68,366, which related to their chosen medical topic. Approximately 47.0 to 99.6% of videos were excluded in any given review, with the majority of studies excluding > 90.0% of identified videos.”[ii]
Youtube videos on prostate cancer
How does Dr. Youtube stack up when it comes to prostate cancer (PCa)? A team of researchers out of New York University conducted “the largest, most comprehensive examination of prostate cancer information on YouTube” up to 2019.[iii] They used a validated quality scale for consumer health education to evaluate accuracy and presentation quality; they then tallied the number of views each video received as well as viewer comments, and calculated the relationship between video quality and viewer engagement. The videos in their sample have 1.3 million views (average over 45,000 views per video) and they rated overall information as “moderate”. They summarize their findings as follows:
More videos described benefits (75%) than harms (53%), and only 50% promoted shared decision-making as recommended in current guidelines. Only 54% of the videos defined medical terms and few provided summaries or references. … The comments section underneath some videos contained advertising and peer-to-peer medical advice. A total of 115 videos (77%) contained potentially misinformative and/or biased content within the video or comments section, with a total reach of >6 million viewers.[iv]
They also found that the number of views and viewer thumbs-up ratings did not mean the information was trustworthy.
Important questions you should ask
A patient blog posted by prostatecancer.net suggests you ask yourself the following questions about any youtube video on prostate cancer:
- When was the video made/posted? If it’s older than a year, there may be important clinical updates not included.
- Who made the video? Is it a source you trust? If not, or you never heard of it, it may not be valid.
- Is it only reporting good (or even miraculous) results? Responsible information should speak to side effects or downsides.
Remember that social media, including youtube, is not reviewed or curated for quality or background research. You should not interpret any content as personal medical advice. Only your doctor can provide that. Yes, making an appointment may be inconvenient. Yes, for many of us, there is a fee or co-pay. Don’t cheap out on your health by trusting it to youtube or any other source. It’s one possession in your life that you can’t put a dollar value on.
NOTE: This content is solely for purposes of information and does not substitute for diagnostic or medical advice. Talk to your doctor if you are experiencing pelvic pain, or have any other health concerns or questions of a personal medical nature.
References
[i] Kunze KN. Editorial Commentary: YouTube Videos Provide Poor-Quality Medical Information: Don’t Believe What You Watch! Arthroscopy. 2020 Dec;36(12):3048-3049.
[ii] Curran V, Simmons K, Matthews L, Fleet L et al. YouTube as an Educational Resource in Medical Education: a Scoping Review. Med Sci Educ. 2020 Jun 29;30(4):1775-1782.
[iii] Loeb S, Sengupta S, et. al. Dissemination of Misinformative and Biased Information about Prostate Cancer on YouTube. European Urology. 2019 April;75(4):564-567
[iv] Ibid.
About Dr. Dan Sperling
Dan Sperling, MD, DABR, is a board certified radiologist who is globally recognized as a leader in multiparametric MRI for the detection and diagnosis of a range of disease conditions. As Medical Director of the Sperling Prostate Center, Sperling Medical Group and Sperling Neurosurgery Associates, he and his team are on the leading edge of significant change in medical practice. He is the co-author of the new patient book Redefining Prostate Cancer, and is a contributing author on over 25 published studies. For more information, contact the Sperling Prostate Center.
