Is the YouTube™ an useful source of information on oral leukoplakia?

• DOI: 10.1111/odi.13161
• Publication Date: 2019-07-23T07:15:11Z
• Authors: Luan Nathiel Sant...; Fernanda Brochier...; Otávio Pereira D’...; Ana Paula Borngrä...; Marco Antonio Tre...; Manoela Domingues...; Vinicius Coelho C...
• Keywords: 03 medical and health sciences; Cross-Sectional Studies; 0302 clinical medicine; Consumer Health Information; Information Dissemination; Video Recording; Humans; Reproducibility of Results; Leukoplakia, Oral; Social Media; 3. Good health

AbstractObjectivesYouTube™ has become a widely used source of health information. This cross‐sectional study aimed to analyze the quality of English language videos on oral leukoplakia available on YouTube™.Materials and methodsA YouTube™ search for oral leukoplakia was performed, leading to 1,690 videos. The first 100 results were examined for exclusion criteria, yielding 28 videos. The source, duration, views, likes, and dislikes of each video were recorded. Two oral medicine residents scored the videos for visibility, popularity, quality, utility, and reliability.ResultsVideos were categorized into two groups: independent users or company advertisements (n = 21) and professional organizations or government agencies (n = 5). Analysis showed that, in general, videos were of low quality, usefulness, and reliability. Higher quality videos had more likes (p < .05, Mann–Whitney test). More reliable videos received more likes and presented a higher viewing rate and interaction index (p < .05, Mann–Whitney test).ConclusionsThere are few high‐quality videos about oral leukoplakia on YouTube™. Oral medicine professionals and students should attempt to correct this deficit, as they are the holders of evidence‐based knowledge and clinical experience.