YouTube as a Source of Patient Information Regarding Placenta Accreta Spectrum

Objective As the awareness of the accompanying morbidity of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) has increased over recent decades. We sought to analyze the precision and reliability of the currently available content regarding PAS on YouTube. Study Design A YouTube search was performed on June 17, 2019 by using the search terms "placenta accreta," "PAS," and "invasive placentation." Search results were sorted by relevance, and up to 200 videos per search term were systematically evaluated by four independent reviewers. A quality assessment checklist relating to aspects of PAS was developed with a Likert's scale from 0 to 12 points to quantify video content. Videos were classified as poor educational quality (grade 0 to <= 4), moderate quality (grade >4-8), and high quality (grade >8-12). Results Of the 318 videos identified, 99 videos met inclusion criteria. The majority of videos (61.6%) were produced by a professional source, that is, appearing to be from a hospital, university, or educational service. Of the remaining videos, 16.2% were classified as personal, that is, posted from personal YouTube accounts and depicting a personal or family member experience, and 22.2% were classified as other. The majority of the "other" category consisted of news segments and short clips from talk shows. Overall, 60.6% of videos were of poor educational quality, 32.3% were of moderate quality, and 7.1% were deemed high quality. All seven of the high-quality videos were produced by a professional source and intended for an audience of medical professionals. There were neither high-quality videos intended for the general public nor the likely affected and relevant patient population. Conclusion This study suggests that the currently available videos on YouTube regarding PAS are poor educational sources for patients seeking information, and demonstrates a need for high-quality content videos produced by medical professionals specifically focused on meeting the needs of patient population.