Summary

YouTube videos on the diagnosis and management of SLAP tears have low overall quality and reliability scores.

Abstract

Introduction

YouTube has become an increasingly popular source of medical information, but little is currently known in terms of quality control of the uploaded content. The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of YouTube videos related to the diagnosis and treatment of Superior Labrum Anterior Posterior (SLAP) tears.

Methods

YouTube was queried in August 2021 using the two predetermined keywords: “SLAP tear” and “superior labral tear”. The first 50 videos were analyzed by two independent reviewers and scored using 3 scoring systems: Global Quality Scale (GQS), the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and the Shoulder Specific Score (SSS) to determine video accuracy and reliability. Title, number of views, video duration, video source, content type, views/day, number of likes, number of dislikes, days since upload, like ratio (Like x 100/ [Like+Dislike]) and Video Power Index (VPI) (Like ratio x View ratio/100) were all recorded and analyzed.

Results

Of the 50 initials videos generated in the YouTube search, 6 were excluded for being duplicates or unrelated to SLAP tears, leaving 44 videos to be analyzed and scored. The scores of most videos were low, with a mean JAMA score of 2.5 (1–4, SD 0.73), a mean GQS of 2.66 (0.5–4.5, SD 0.99) and a mean SSS of 7.13 (0–18, SD 4.39). JAMA score was significantly and positively correlated with video duration (r = 0.405, p = 0.006). Views, likes, dislikes, publication dates, and VPI were not significantly correlated with any scoring scale.

Conclusion

YouTube videos on the diagnosis and management of SLAP tears have low overall quality and reliability scores. Independent physician and academic institution sources received higher mean scores for JAMA, GQS, and SSS. Video quality was not correlated with number of views.