YouTube as a source of medical information about epidural analgesia for labor pain. 2021

R S D'Souza, and S D'Souza, and E E Sharpe
Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Division of Pain Medicine, Mayo Clinic Hospital, Rochester, MN, USA. Electronic address: dsouza.ryan@mayo.edu.

Large gaps remain in our understanding of the role of social media platforms in the dissemination of medical information. This cross-sectional study quantitatively assessed the accuracy and quality of information on YouTube regarding epidural labor analgesia. YouTube was searched on May 23, 2020 using keywords 'epidural,' 'epidural for labor,' 'epidural for pregnancy,' 'epidural experience,' and 'epidural risks,' and the top 50 viewed videos from each search were screened. Primary outcomes included the proportion of videos containing non-factual information, and video quality analyzed using the modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) score. Thirteen of 60 (21.7%) videos included non-factual information about epidural analgesia; these videos were viewed more than 16.5 million times (60% of total viewership of the videos analyzed). Mean (standard deviation) mDISCERN score for all included videos was 1.9 (1.3), which is below the threshold for high video-quality. Videos from medical sources (hospitals, medical practices, physicians, other medical professionals) had a higher mDISCERN score compared with videos by non-medical sources (P <0.001). Educational videos from professional societies of obstetrics or obstetric anesthesiology were not captured. YouTube is an accessible platform for medical information on epidural labor analgesia, although a significant proportion of videos studied contained non-factual information and presented low video quality. Increased efforts by reputable sources including hospitals, physicians, other medical professionals, and professional societies, to disseminate accurate information, are warranted.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D011247 Pregnancy The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH. Gestation,Pregnancies
D003430 Cross-Sectional Studies Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time. Disease Frequency Surveys,Prevalence Studies,Analysis, Cross-Sectional,Cross Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Survey,Surveys, Disease Frequency,Analyses, Cross Sectional,Analyses, Cross-Sectional,Analysis, Cross Sectional,Cross Sectional Analyses,Cross Sectional Studies,Cross Sectional Survey,Cross-Sectional Analyses,Cross-Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Study,Cross-Sectional Surveys,Disease Frequency Survey,Prevalence Study,Studies, Cross-Sectional,Studies, Prevalence,Study, Cross-Sectional,Study, Prevalence,Survey, Cross-Sectional,Survey, Disease Frequency,Surveys, Cross-Sectional
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014741 Video Recording The storing or preserving of video signals to be played back later via a transmitter or receiver. Audiovisual Recording,Videorecording,Audiovisual Recordings,Recording, Audiovisual,Recording, Video,Recordings, Audiovisual,Recordings, Video,Video Recordings,Videorecordings
D015360 Analgesia, Epidural The relief of pain without loss of consciousness through the introduction of an analgesic agent into the epidural space of the vertebral canal. It is differentiated from ANESTHESIA, EPIDURAL which refers to the state of insensitivity to sensation. Epidural Analgesia
D048949 Labor Pain Pain associated with OBSTETRIC LABOR in CHILDBIRTH. It is caused primarily by UTERINE CONTRACTION as well as pressure on the CERVIX; BLADDER; and the GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT. Labor pain mostly occurs in the ABDOMEN; the GROIN; and the BACK. Obstetric Pain,Pain, Labor,Pain, Obstetric
D061108 Social Media Platforms that provide the ability and tools to create and publish information accessed via the INTERNET. Generally these platforms have three characteristics with content user generated, high degree of interaction between creator and viewer, and easily integrated with other sites. Folksonomy,Mobile Social Media,Mobile Social Networks,Social Media Messaging,Social Tagging,Social Medium,Twitter Messaging,Web 2.0,Folksonomies,Media Messaging, Social,Media, Social,Messaging, Social Media,Messaging, Twitter,Mobile Social Medias,Mobile Social Network,Social Media Messagings,Social Media, Mobile,Social Network, Mobile,Social Taggings,Tagging, Social,Web 2.0s
D033181 Information Dissemination The circulation or wide dispersal of information. Data Sharing,Information Distribution,Information Sharing,Data Sharings,Dissemination, Information,Distribution, Information,Information Sharings,Sharing, Data,Sharing, Information,Sharings, Data,Sharings, Information

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