Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32472374›Full record

ArticleJournal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education2020

Are DISCERN and JAMA Suitable Instruments for Assessing YouTube Videos on Thyroid Cancer? Methodological Concerns.

Samy A Azer

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
60citing papers in PubMed
13.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

60 citing papers in PubMed, 107 citations in OpenAlex.

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  6. YouTube as a Source of Patient Information for Malignant and Benign Primary Bone Tumors.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2026
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  13. Epistemic compression in large language model explanations of the gut-liver axis.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.

Samy A AzerCurriculum Development and Research Unit, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. mcqsmcqs@hotmail.com.ORCID 0000-0001-5638-3256
King Saud University · SA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The incidence of thyroid cancer continues to increase worldwide. The challenge facing the treatment of thyroid cancers is related to the fact that this disease exhibits a broad range of clinical behaviour from indolent tumour to very aggressive malignancies. Therefore, the public and patient education about thyroid cancer are becoming a crucial step in facing the challenge imposed by this cancer. Currently, social media channels such as YouTube, a video-sharing website on the Internet, play a significant role in public and patient education. Research on the part of YouTube in public education about cancer is on the rise, including a paper on thyroid cancer published recently in the Journal of Cancer Education. However, researchers conducting studies should use tools that are designed to assess videos, not written information or websites. DISCERN instrument and JAMA benchmark tools are not intended to evaluate videos such as those of YouTube. An ideal instrument for assessing YouTube should cover several parameters to identify educationally useful videos, including (i) scientific accuracy of video content, (ii) clarity of the massage given, (iii) authority (creator), (iv) pedagogy and educational basis and (v) technical design, including quality images and good visuals, production style, quality scripts, clear sounds and no noises in the background. While video images help in reinforcing the words and the message, both picture and sound quality are vital in creating a strong mental impression and engaging the audience. This commentary calls for the development of a standardised protocol that can help researchers to enhance their research publications and ensure that adequate and accurate data have been collected and analysed. Such a move will help us in establishing the right literature in this area and will help researchers conducting reviews and meta-analysis on YouTube videos.

Indexed as

BenchmarkingConsumer Health InformationHumansInformation DisseminationPatient Education as TopicQuality ControlSocial MediaThyroid NeoplasmsVideo RecordingDISCERN instrumentJAMA benchmark toolsMethodologyPatient educationThyroid cancerYouTube videos

Identifiers

PMID32472374
OpenAlexW3029456886

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.