The majority of YouTube videos on premature ejaculation (PE) share accurate, reliable information, according to a recent Journal of Sexual Medicine study. But “dangerous” content is still a concern.
The research team assessed 132 videos and deemed 70% as reliable. Thirty percent were considered “nonreliable.”
YouTube, which began in 2005, is available in over 91 countries worldwide, with more than 1.9 billion monthly users. Patients often look to YouTube for medical information, and healthcare providers upload their own videos to promote their practices or organizations.
Premature ejaculation, is a common problem. The ISSM defines PE as follows:
Both acquired and lifelong PE is “a male sexual dysfunction characterized by
- ejaculation which always or nearly always occurs prior to or within about one minute of vaginal penetration from the first sexual experiences (lifelong PE), or, a clinically significant and bothersome reduction in latency time, often to about 3 minutes or less (acquired PE), and
- the inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations, and
- negative personal consequences, such as distress, bother, frustration and/or the avoidance of sexual intimacy.”
Not all men feel comfortable seeing their doctor about PE and turn to the internet to learn about treatment options. YouTube is a popular source, but the quality and reliability of information about premature ejaculation on YouTube had not been studied previously.
Using the YouTube search function, the researchers identified videos related to premature ejaculation and its treatment. For this analysis, they excluded any videos without sound as well as those in languages other than English.
The reliability of information in each video was assessed as follows:
- Reliable videos contained “scientifically correct” information on behavioral strategies, medications, and combination treatments.
- Nonreliable videos contained scientifically unproven information. Videos that included both reliable and nonreliable information were put in this category.
Video quality was further assessed using the Global Quality Score and a modified version of the DISCERN tool, a questionnaire used to evaluate written information on medical treatments.
In general, reliable videos came from universities, professional organizations, and non-profit physicians’ groups, the researchers said. Nonreliable videos were more likely to come from medical advertisements and for-profit companies. However, some nonreliable videos did come from physicians who had products to sell.
Overall, the videos had over 25 million views, but the researchers did not find a significant difference in daily views between reliable and nonreliable videos. “This demonstrates that people are being exposed to both reliable and nonreliable information at similar rates for PE videos, and they cannot distinguish the good from the bad,” they wrote.
Some nonreliable videos promoted “potentially very dangerous” PE remedies, the authors added. Topically applied toothpaste, for example, contains ingredients that could cause abrasions and infections. Supplements might have unknown ingredients, including active pharmaceuticals, that may interact with other medications a man is taking. The safety profile of homeopathic approaches “is still obscure.”
The authors acknowledged that their study did not involve actual patients, and it was not known how viewers interpreted information in the videos. Also, there is no standard procedure for evaluating health-related video content.
They encouraged clinicians and healthcare organizations to upload accurate videos and urged YouTube to remove videos with nonreliable content.
Resources
Discern Online
“Welcome to Discern”
http://www.discern.org.uk/index.php
The Journal of Sexual Medicine
Gul, Murat, MD and Mehmet Akif Diri, MD
“YouTube as a Source of Information About Premature Ejaculation Treatment”
(Full-text. Published online: September 12, 2019)
https://www.jsm.jsexmed.org/article/S1743-6095(19)31369-4/fulltext