Introduction:

Internet platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, have dramatically increased access to medical knowledge for both health professionals and patients. However, the information on internet platforms is rarely vetted by professional organizations or peer reviewed, which question the reliability of the information. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the information content of videos published on YouTube for patients with kidney cancer using validated measures.

Methods:

YouTube was queried using the following search words: renal cancer, kidney cancer, and small renal masses. We used DISCERN and Patient Education Material Assessment Tool (PEMAT), two validated instruments for analyzing consumer health information, to assess the quality of treatment information, and the understandability and actionability of the material.

Results:

A total of 75 videos were analyzed, of which 23 (30.7%) videos were intended for patients and 35 (46.7%) for healthcare providers, with 33 (44%) videos using a healthcare professional as the speaker. Overall, the quality of treatment information was moderate to poor in 69.3% of videos based on the DISCERN instrument. Additionally, most videos were either understandable or actionable with a PEMAT score of 70% and 66.7%, respectively.

Conclusion:

In the labyrinth of data called the internet, there is a need to better elucidate credible videos for both patient and provider facing educational material. Videos on kidney cancer treatments, while understandable and actionable, raise questions about the quality of advice being provided on YouTube.

Funding: N/A