Are YouTube videos a reliable information source for young women with metastatic breast cancer?

244 Background: Young women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) are an underserved population, rendering them susceptible to media sources that lack in credibility and reliability. YouTube (YT) is the most commonly used search engine following Google. This study aims to assess the quality of MBC YT videos and to identify common themes in MBC experiences. Methods: A systematic review of YT videos with search terms “metastatic breast cancer young” was conducted in 08/2021. Title, date uploaded, length, poster identity, number of likes, dislikes, and comments were collected. Understandability, actionability were assessed using the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) for audiovisual (A/V) materials; information reliability/quality was assessed with DISCERN. Scoring was done by 3 reviewers. Themes, presence of sponsorships, healthcare professionals’ and patients’ narratives were also reported. Results: 101 videos were identified. Of these, 78.2% were sponsored. Average video length was 14.9 minutes (SD 22.5). Majority were posted by nonprofit groups and breast cancer advocacy organizations. Mean PEMAT A/V score was 78.8% (SD 15.3) and 43.1% (SD 45.2) for understandability and actionability, respectively. Overall, videos had moderate reliability and quality levels; mean DISCERN score was 2.44/5 (SD 0.7). Patient narratives were shared in 63.3% and healthcare professionals in 57.4%. Identified themes include treatment (66.3%), family relationship (45.5%), motherhood (37.6%), terminal status (31.6%), the path to diagnosis (28.7%), and spousal relationship (24.7%). Conclusions: YouTube videos about MBC are highly understandable but demonstrate low to moderate rates of actionability, with low reliability and quality scores. Many have a potential commercial bias. More research is needed to evaluate their impact on patient decisions and possible interventions provided by healthcare institutions.[Table: see text]