YouTube as a Patient Education Resource for Male Hypogonadism and Testosterone Therapy

Abstract

Introduction YouTube is an unregulated platform that patients are using to learn about treatment options. Aim To assess the reliability of YouTube videos (YTVs) related to male hypogonadism and testosterone therapy. Methods Searching on YouTube by relevance and view count, we analyzed the top 10 videos (80 videos total) for the following search terms: low testosterone, testosterone replacement therapy, AndroGel, and hypogonadism. Main Outcome Measure We recorded the number of views for each video, evaluated videos using the DISCERN score (DS) criterion, and compared the DS for videos including board-certified physicians and videos without. A second comparison was made between videos with board-certified physicians in urology, endocrinology, other MD, and those without any physician. Results The YTVs analyzed received a total of 38,549,090 views, a median of 25,201 and 17.30 views/day. Videos that featured physicians had significantly fewer views/day than videos that did not (39.48 CI 9,72 vs 1,731 CI 330, 3,132; P = .019). Most YTVs studied were unreliable. The median DS across all videos was 2. However, most videos created by physicians were found to be reliable with a median DS of 4. In addition, YTVs that did not feature a physician were found to be significantly less reliable than videos that featured a physician (3.22 CI 3.06, 4.09 vs 1.87 CI 1.56, 2.18; P < .001). There was no significant difference in the reliability or viewership of YTVs stratified by physician type. Conclusion Most YTVs related to male hypogonadism/testosterone therapy were unreliable, but there are reliable YTVs available. Reliable videos usually feature a physician and receive fewer views than unreliable YTVs. Physicians and academic societies should work to provide verified videos to provide patients with reliable information about male hypogonadism and testosterone therapy. CJ Warren, J Wisener, B Ward, et al. YouTube as a Patient Education Resource for Male Hypogonadism and Testosterone Therapy. Sex Med 2021;9:100324.

The Reliability of Videos About Transdermal Testosterone Therapy on YouTube: Cross-Sectional Study

“…Similarly, non-physicians' videos are viewed more than physicians'. 14 In our study, we found a similar result that YTVs had lowquality information uploaded by non-physicians (p<0.000) and on the contrary, we didn't find a dif-ference in view counts between physician's and non-physician's videos that included transdermal testosterone usage (p=0.952).…”

YouTube as a Source of Information on Polymyalgia Rheumatica

“…Literatürde, farklı tanılara ait video analizlerinde, bu oran %30 ile %54 arasında değişmektedir. [24][25][26] Bunun sebebi analiz edilen hastalıkla ilgili olabilir. Çünkü şimdiye kadar yapılan video analizleri PMR'nin aksine görülme sıklığı ve toplum tarafından bilinirliği yüksek, eklem deformitesi gibi süreğen sorunlara yol açan hastalıklardır.…”

Sexual health information on social media: a systematic scoping review

“…(2020; [ 95 ]) YouTube Qualitativ – Laien + 1 – 70 Warren et al. (2021; [ 96 ]) YouTube Quantitativ manuell + Profis Laien + 1 Gering 71 Whiteley et al. (2020; [ 97 ]) YouTube Quantitativ manuell + Profis – 1 – 72 Yeo und Chu (2017; [ 24 ]) Facebook Quantitativ manuell – Laien – 5 – a Gliederung der Anbieter in 3 Gruppen: Profis (Fachleute für sexuelle Gesundheit, Organisationen der sexuellen Gesundheit), Laien (Laien/Peer Sex Educators), Sonstige (Medienorganisationen/Fachleute für Medien und Kommunikation, kommerzielle Anbieter, andere Anbieter) b Anzahl der behandelten Themenbereiche aus 6 Themenbereichen (1 HIV/STI, 2 geschlechtliche und sexuelle Identitäten, 3 sexuelle Gewalt, 4 Fruchtbarkeit und Verhütung, 5 sexuelle und reproduktive Störungen, 6 sexuelle Funktionen, Lebensstile und Vergnügen) c Klassifikation der Qualitätsausprägung als gering (51–100 % – also mehr als die Hälfte – der Untersuchungseinheiten mit Qualitätsmängeln), mittel (11–50 %), hoch (0–10 %; Tab.…”

“…(2017; [ 88 ]) N = 50 meistgesehene englischsprachige YouTube-Videos zum Hormonimplantat als Verhütungsmethode 24 % der Videos (12) von Gesundheitsprofis mit höherem DISCERN-Index (Md = 3) 76 % der Videos (38) von Patient:innen mit geringerem DISCERN-Index (Md = 2) Warren et al. (2021; [ 96 ]) N = 72 meistgesehene englischsprachige YouTube-Videos zu männlichem Hypogonadismus und Testosteronersatztherapie 38 % der Videos (27) von Gesundheitsprofis mit höherem DISCERN-Index (M = 3,22) 62 % der Videos (45) von Gesundheitslaien mit geringerem DISCERN-Index (M = 1,87) Whiteley et al. (2020; [ 97 ]) N = 58 englischsprachige YouTube-Videos zur HIV-Präexpositionsprophylaxe (HIV-PrEP) Keine Gesamtbewertung der Qualität der Informationen in der Stichprobe vorgenommen n = 10 Publikationen mit standardisierter Messung der Informationsqualität.…”