Youtube as an education tool for shoulder arthroscopy: Is it the future?

Abstract

Mahdi Yacine Khalfaoui

Introduction: The Internet remains a popular source of information to both the public and healthcare professionals. Initially launched in 2005 as a video sharing website, YouTube has developed into the second largest search engine available on the Internet. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the video content on shoulder arthroscopy available online, assessing its accuracy and quality in order to determine the overall usefulness for both patients and orthopaedic specialists. Methods: A search of the YouTube video database was conducted using the terms “shoulder”, “arthroscopy” and “arthroscopic repair”. The usefulness of each video’s content was categorized as high, moderate or poor according to a devised scoring system. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used to analyze the relationships between usefulness scores generated for each video and their corresponding technical characteristics. Results: The videos assessed, on average scored highest in the area of basic arthroscopy demonstration and were least comprehensive in discussing complications and information on the anaesthetic. Overall a significant proportion of videos reviewed (70%) were categorized as “poor” in quality with just 5% deemed as “high” in quality and usefulness for the patient population. Spearman’s rank coefficient revealed a moderate correlation between patient usefulness scores and length of video (Spearman’s rho = 0.44, p = 0.051) and a strong correlation between orthopaedic specialist usefulness scores and length of video (Spearman’s rho = 0.65, p = 0.002). Conclusions: Despite the continuing growing trend of internet use for health-education purposes, it would seem the quality of such information available on public domains remains deficient.