Association between YouTube® videos and health literacy with postoperative healthcare utilization following pediatric urologic surgery: A randomized trial

Limited caregiver health literacy has been associated with poorer health outcomes in pediatric patients and may limit caregiver understanding of printed education resources. Postoperative healthcare utilization may be related to confusion about instructions or complications. To correlate caregiver health literacy and educational video intervention with postoperative healthcare utilization following ambulatory pediatric urologic surgery. From July through December 2021, a randomized double-blinded trial assessed postoperative healthcare utilization following pediatric urologic surgery. Caregivers were randomized to receive standardized postoperative counseling and printed instructions (control) or access to English-language educational YouTube® videos with standardized postoperative counseling and printed instructions (intervention). Medical record abstraction was completed 30 days following surgery to identify postoperative healthcare utilization with calls, messages, add-on clinic visits, or presentation for urgent or emergent care, and postoperative complications. Target enrollment was achieved with 400 caregivers with 204 in the intervention and 196 in the control groups. There was a 32.5 % overall rate of postoperative healthcare utilization. Health literacy was inversely associated with total postoperative healthcare utilization (p