Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Effective management of adrenal insufficiency (AI) during sick day episodes involves adjusting oral glucocorticoid therapy or administering intramuscular injections to prevent adrenal crises. Therefore, educating families of young individuals with AI on emergency management is crucial.

Aim: This study aims to critically evaluate online educational materials related to adrenal crisis management. We conducted a systematic search of online educational resources available on Google and YouTube, as well as a directed search of recognized professional bodies and patient support groups.

Methods: We performed comprehensive searches on Google and YouTube to identify relevant resources. The quality of educational information provided by eligible resources was assessed using a set of specific criteria. Additionally, we evaluated the readability of web pages obtained from Google using the Flesch–Kincaid reading ease score.

Results: We identified a total of 16 patient education resources through Google and 17 through YouTube. More than half (9/16, 56%) of the resources obtained from Google were developed by healthcare providers and researchers, while most YouTube resources (6/17, 35%) were created by patient groups. Out of the 16 web pages, 15 (94%) provided information on adrenal crisis symptoms, 7 (44%) discussed oral sick day dosing rules, and 3 (19%) covered self-injection of hydrocortisone. Nearly half of the eligible web pages (7/16, 44%) had a Flesch–Kincaid score indicating “difficult to read” (30–50). Among the 17 videos, 11 (65%) included information on adrenal crisis symptoms, 6 (35%) discussed oral sick day dosing rules, and 1 (6%) addressed self-injection of hydrocortisone. Most professional bodies and patient support groups offered high-quality patient educational materials targeted towards families of young individuals with AI but these educational materials were not identified through Google or YouTube searches.

Conclusion: The majority of educational resources obtained from Google or YouTube, based on our systematic search, failed to cover several important clinical points for sick day management of AI. Furthermore, nearly half of the resources on Google had a readability level suitable for individuals with tertiary education or higher. It is crucial to better understand the educational needs of families and young individuals with AI in order to develop accessible educational resources.