Can YouTube be used as an educational tool in lymphedema rehabilitation?

BackgroundLymphedema is defined as the abnormal accumulation of interstitial fluid and fibro-adipose tissues resulting from injury, infection, or congenital abnormalities of the lymphatic system. The gold standard approach in the treatment of lymphedema is Complete Decongestive Therapy and it has many components that require practical knowledge and skills. YouTube can be a useful tool to provide these skills to healthcare professionals and patients. The aim of this study was to examine the videos about lymphedema rehabilitation on YouTube and analyze their technical features, sources, contents, educational value and reliability.MethodsThe YouTube database was searched using the lymphedema rehabilitation, lymphedema treatment, complete decongestive therapy, lymphedema massage, and lymphedema exercises keywords. Two reviewers (Physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist) assessed videos for educational quality using a Global Quality Scale (GQS). To evaluate the reliability the 5-point Discern scale was used.ResultsA total of 90 videos, which met the inclusion criteria were included in the analysis. The mean duration of the videos was 8.9 +/- 10.5 min. The mean number of daily views was 22.7 +/- 47.1 for a day. The majority of the videos were created to inform patients (57.8%).The uploaders were mostly private healthcare institutions or healthcare professionals (65.6%). Information providers were lymphedema therapists mostly (63.3%). Manual lymphatic drainage was observed to stand out as the most mentioned lymphedema rehabilitation component on YouTube. The mean of reliability and GQS scores of the videos were 2.2 +/- 1.0 and 2.7 +/- 1.0, respectively.ConclusionsThe biggest obstacle for YouTube to be an excellent source of information is that it hosts large volumes of uncontrolled and low-quality data. When Youtube content related to lymphedema rehabilitation was examined, it was observed that many videos were quite insufficient and incomplete even though there were useful videos. If careful controlling measures are implemented and if medical videos aim to meet reliability and GQS criteria, YouTube can become an effective and useful source of information for lymphedema rehabilitation.

Automated summary

This study aimed to analyze the technical features, sources, contents, educational value, and reliability of lymphedema rehabilitation videos on YouTube. The results showed that the biggest obstacle for YouTube to be a reliable source of information is the presence of large volumes of uncontrolled and low-quality data. While some videos were useful, many were insufficient and incomplete. With careful control measures and adherence to reliability and GQS criteria, YouTube can become an effective and useful source of information for lymphedema rehabilitation.