Research Article
Assessment of the Accuracy of Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation Videos in English on YouTube according
to the 2015 AHA Resuscitation Guidelines
Burak KatipoLlu ,
1
Elker AkbaG,
2
Abdullah Osman Koçak,
2
Muhammet Furkan Erbay,
2
Engin Ehsan Turan,
2
and Kamber Kasali
3
1
Department of Emergency Medicine, Ufuk University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
2
Department of Emergency Medicine, Ataturk University Faculty of Medicine, Erzurum, Turkey
3
Department of Biostatistics, Ataturk University Faculty of Medicine, Erzurum, Turkey
Correspondence should be addressed to Burak Katipo˘ glu; burak44katipoglu@gmail.com
Received 2 February 2019; Revised 16 March 2019; Accepted 3 April 2019; Published 2 May 2019
Academic Editor: Jacek Smereka
Copyright © 2019 Burak Katipo˘ glu et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Over the last decade, YouTube has become one of the largest online resources for medical information. However, uploaded videos
are published without any peer review or quality control, so incorrect and incomplete information can be easily disseminated via
the virtual platform and can be perceived as correct. Te YouTube website was searched for videos in English uploaded between 15
October 2015 and 21 October 2016 using the following keywords: “CPR,” “cardiopulmonary resuscitation,” and “basic life support.”
Tis study had a cross-sectional analytical design. In the frst evaluation, the accuracy of the videos was checked according to the
information contained in the basic cardiac life support algorithm. In the second evaluation, we assessed whether advanced-level,
innovative medical information was included in these videos; when included, the accuracy of such information was checked. Of
774 videos evaluated, 92 videos were included in the study afer application of the exclusion criteria. Te videos were scored on a
scale ranging from 0 to 20 points. Te mean total score, based on all criteria, was 4.79 ± 2.88. Te highest mean total score was
achieved by videos uploaded by ofcial medical organizations (6.43 ± 3.57), followed by those uploaded by health professionals and
organizations (4.25 ± 2.49), and those uploaded by unidentifed sources. YouTube videos are insufcient in providing information
about the basic life support algorithm and advanced-level information according to the 2015 AHA resuscitation guidelines for health
professionals. Te educational material published by health institutions that are constantly working in the area is a more reliable
source of information on subjects that directly afect human life, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
1. Introduction
Web-based platforms that facilitate the sharing of user-
generated content and information, such as social network-
ing sites, media sharing sites, blogs, and microblogs, have
changed the methods of information sharing worldwide [1].
Tis radical change has naturally led to several innovations
for accessing information, distributing knowledge, and con-
ducting teaching activities. Te World Wide Web has become
a popular medium for learning and teaching. Over the last
decade, the Internet has become a major source of medical
information, and diferent methods are being developed for
medical education utilizing the Internet [2]. Te increasing
integration of the Internet and social media into medical
education suggests that online medical training will form the
basis of future medical education [3]. In addition to patients
and laypeople, increasing numbers of medical students and
health professionals use the Internet and social media to
obtain information about their areas of specialization [4].
Used for video sharing, YouTube is not only the most popular
social networking site, but also the largest video search
engine on the Internet [4]. Te website, established in 2005,
provides users with the ability to upload, share, view, and
download video clips via a simple, integrated platform [5].
Approximately 300 million hours of videos are uploaded to
this site and accessed by approximately 1.3 billion people
Hindawi
Emergency Medicine International
Volume 2019, Article ID 1272897, 6 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/1272897