Introduction
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is an effective treatment for many malignant conditions, marrow failure syndromes, and immune deficiencies in children, adolescents, and young adults1,2. Patients undergoing HSCT are hospitalized for extended periods (months), and recovery can be prolonged (years)3,4. Patients report feeling underprepared for procedures and side effects, and caregivers struggle to perform new and complex care processes after discharge.3,4
Access to timely and relevant education during transplant can lower anxiety and stress, improve compensating behaviors and adherence, increase self-management, and lead to better outcomes5. Video is an increasingly popular medium for patient-centered educational content, and advances in technology have significantly lowered barriers to video production6. Educators can capture and edit high-quality audio and video using ordinary smartphones, which are easily accessible to patients. The cost of video delivery, once a significant expense, is now near-zero with the rise of ad-supported streaming platforms such as YouTube®.7,8
Positive results in controlled studies may lead centers to assume the benefit of video-based education will translate directly into an uncontrolled setting, where patients and families can decide, with anonymity, how long to view each video, or even if to view it at all. Without usage metrics, a video’s performance can be opaque to its creator, leaving little ability to understand if the intended benefits are delivered and, if so, delivered equitably across socioeconomic and cultural boundaries. Our goal was to understand better our video utilization in patients and caregivers undergoing pediatric HSCT.