Understandability and Actionability of Audiovisual Patient Education on Epinephrine Auto-Injector

Objective: The internet and social media, which have become a part of daily life, have also become critical sources for obtaining health information. Anyone can upload videos on any topic on Youtube; however, Youtube does not guarantee that the uploaded videos contain the correct information. Failure to use or the misuse of epinephrine auto-injectors (EAIs) can lead to fatal results. The aim of this study was analyze the reliability, understandability, and actionability of the videos on the use of epinephrine auto-injectors published on Youtube.Materials and Methods: The search term 'how to use epinephrine auto-injectors' was searched on YouTubeTM (http://www.youtube. com) on 04.10.2022 and the first 200 videos were reviewed. Information about the video was recorded and the Global Quality Scale (GQS), DISCERN (DISCERN is a brief questionnaire that provides users with a valid and reliable way of assessing the quality of written information on treatment choices for a health problem) and Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) were evaluated.Results: Of the 112 videos, 86.6% of those included in the study were educational for the public. The duration of understandable videos was found to be significantly higher than non-understandable videos (p<0.001). A moderately positive correlation was found between the GQS scores and understandability scores (p<0.001) and between actionability scores (p<0.001). A moderately positive correlation was found between the DISCERN scores and understandability (p<0.001) and actionability scores (p<0.001). The understandability rate of the videos uploaded by physicians and non-physician health workers was found to be significantly lower than the other video uploaders (p<0.01). In the performed linear regression analysis, it was seen that the number of understandable videos published by physicians and non-physician healthcare professionals was significantly lower than the videos uploaded by other users. The number of understandable videos was significantly higher in long videos.Conclusion: There are severe problems regarding the videos' quality, reliability, understandability and actionability. It is thought that Youtube content on the use of EAIs in case of anaphylaxis should be improved.

Automated summary

The internet and social media are important platforms for obtaining health information, but the reliability and quality of the videos on Youtube regarding the use of epinephrine auto-injectors need improvement.