Development and validation of a tool for evaluating YouTube-based medical videos

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Today, one of the ways to access medical information is the internet. Our objective was to develop a measurement tool to assess the quality of online medical videos. METHODS: Online videos covering a variety of subjects (COVID-19, low back pain, weight loss, hypertension, cancer, chest pain, vaccination, asthma, allergy, and cataracts) were evaluated using our Medical Quality Video Evaluation Tool (MQ-VET) by 25 medical and 25 non-medical professionals. Exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach’s alpha, and correlation coefficients were used to assess the validity and reliability of the MQ-VET. RESULTS: The final MQ-VET consisted of 15 items and four sections. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient for the full MQ-VET was 0.72, and the internal consistency for all factors was good (between 0.73 and 0.81). The correlation between the DISCERN questionnaire scores and MQ-VET scores was significant. CONCLUSION: Collectively, our findings indicated that the MQ-VET is a valid and reliable tool that will help to standardize future evaluations of online medical videos.