Today, when someone wants to learn how to play the ukulele or write an app they go straight to YouTube. Video based learning is ingrained in 21st century culture and is also used in a multitude of educational environments. So, why couldn’t this tool be used to teach patients about their prostate cancer, wondered Viraj A. Master, MD, PhD, Winship Cancer Institute Urologist and Director of Clinical Research in Emory University’s Department of Urology.
In 2013, Master along with Ashesh B. Jani, MD (Radiation Oncology) and Michael G. Goodman, MD (Epidemiology) published a groundbreaking study (i) that demonstrated the staggering lack of knowledge, which Grady Hospital patients in Atlanta, had in regards to their own cancer. These prostate cancer patients were unable to define key medical terms related to their illness; with half of the subjects unable to define “impotence,” and two thirds not knowing the meanings of key phrases like “urinary function” and “bowel habits.”
These disturbing results lead him to spearhead another project that used a video based learning system to teach prostate cancer patients about their disease (ii). Master’s and his team approached this by developing a video tool that depicted 26 routine medical terms related to prostate cancer, sharing it with patients, and comparing those patient’s knowledge to a control group. Results demonstrated statistically significant improvements in medical term comprehension.
Master explains that “This shows that video tools can help patients understand these critical prostate health terms in a meaningful way. The ultimate goal is to give patients a vocabulary toolkit to further enable them to make shared and informed decisions about their treatment options.”