‘How to stop a nosebleed’: a combined objective and subjective assessment of YouTube videos on first-aid management of epistaxis

Abstract

Objective A previous study in 2016 found that the quality of YouTube videos on epistaxis first-aid management was highly variable. This study aimed to reassess the accuracy and patient understandability of such YouTube videos. Method YouTube was searched using the phrase ‘How to stop a nosebleed’. The highest 50 ranking videos, based on relevance, were screened. Each video was assessed objectively using a standardised ‘advice score’, and subjectively using a video understandability and actionability checklist, the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials (‘PEMAT-A/V’). Results The mean advice score was 4.1 out of 8. The mean (standard deviation) understandability and actionability scores were 76 per cent (17 per cent) and 89 per cent (18 per cent), respectively. There was a strong positive correlation between the actionability scores and the advice scores (ρ = 0.634; p < 0.001), and between the actionability scores and the understandability scores (ρ = 0.519; p = 0.002). Conclusion YouTube videos are providing increasingly relevant advice for patients seeking healthcare information. YouTube is proposed as a useful medium for teaching epistaxis management to patients and community practitioners.

Necrotising otitis externa, epistaxis first aid advice, laterality in otolaryngology and what medical students want from ENT teaching

“…More worrying was the amount of ineffective, non evidence-based and downright harmful advice that was available. This month's Journal, seven years on, has a similar paper from Chelmsford, Essex (UK) 6 which gives a more reassuring update on the matter, especially as such videos are a patient's first port of call. The quality and usefulness of the videos is now much better, with higher scores, and the authors conclude that the videos represent a more useful source of advice for patients.…”