Are online streaming videos on tracheostomy care appropriate for medical education?

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to analyze the quality of videos about tracheostomy care on an online video streaming site for teaching healthcare staff and medical students. Material and Methods: In this cross-sectional, quantitative and exploratory study, firstly an online YouTube search was performed using the keywords “tracheostomy care” and “pediatric tracheostomy care”. The total view counts, video duration and video source were recorded. The educational quality and accuracy of the video content were evaluated using the DISCERN, Global Quality Score (GQS), and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) scores. Secondly, a pre-test comprising questions about tracheostomy care was administered to medical faculty students and intensive care nurses. Participants watched the three videos with the highest DISCERN, JAMA, and GQS scores before taking a post-test. The pre- and post-test scores were then compared. Results: From the initial 339 videos, duplicated, non-English, and low sound quality videos were excluded, and 122 videos were analyzed. The mean DISCERN score was 39.4±8.7 (fair), the mean JAMA score 2.1±0.8 (fair), and the mean GQS 3.3±1.1 (fair). Sixty-one (50%) videos were related to medical education and 57 (46.7%) to patient education. Most of the videos were uploaded by non-physician healthcare staff. The pre- and post-test results showed that the videos uploaded by medical education websites and academic institutions had higher educational quality and may be utilized for online education. Conclusions: Tracheostomy care videos on YouTube with the highest DISCERN, JAMA and GQS scores could be used for online learning by medical students and nurses in resource-limiting centers.