Trends in Patient, Physician, and Public Perception of Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction Using Social Media Analytics

Evaluation of TikTok videos on acute pancreatitis: content quality and reliability analysis

BACKGROUND

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common acute digestive system disorder, with patients often turning to TikTok for AP-related information. However, the platform's video quality on AP has not been thoroughly investigated.

OBJECTIVE

The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the quality of videos about AP on TikTok, and the secondary purpose is to study the related factors of video quality.

METHODS

This study involved retrieving AP-related videos from TikTok, determining, and analyzing them based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Relevant data were extracted and compiled for evaluation. Video quality was scored using the DISCERN instrument and the Health on the Net (HONcode) score, complemented by introducing the Acute Pancreatitis Content Score (APCS). Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the correlation between video quality scores and user engagement metrics such as likes, comments, favorites, retweets, and video duration.

RESULTS

A total of 111 TikTok videos were included for analysis, and video publishers were composed of physicians (89.18%), news media organizations (13.51%), individual users (5.41%), and medical institutions (0.9%). The majority of videos focused on AP-related educational content (64.87%), followed by physicians' diagnostic and treatment records (15.32%), and personal experiences (19.81%). The mean scores for DISCERN, HONcode, and APCS were 33.05 ± 7.87, 3.09 ± 0.93, and 1.86 ± 1.30, respectively. The highest video scores were those posted by physicians (35.17 ± 7.02 for DISCERN, 3.31 ± 0.56 for HONcode, and 1.94 ± 1.34 for APCS, respectively). According to the APCS, the main contents focused on etiology (n = 55, 49.5%) and clinical presentations (n = 36, 32.4%), followed by treatment (n = 24, 21.6%), severity (n = 20, 18.0%), prevention (n = 19, 17.1%), pathophysiology (n = 17, 15.3%), definitions (n = 13, 11.7%), examinations (n = 10, 9%), and other related content. There was no correlation between the scores of the three evaluation tools and the number of followers, likes, comments, favorites, and retweets of the video. However, DISCERN (r = 0.309) and APCS (r = 0.407) showed a significant positive correlation with video duration, while HONcode showed no correlation with the duration of the video.

CONCLUSIONS

The general quality of TikTok videos related to AP is poor; however, the content posted by medical professionals shows relatively higher quality, predominantly focusing on clinical presentations and etiologies. There is a discernible correlation between video duration and quality ratings, indicating that a combined approach incorporating the guideline can comprehensively evaluate AP-related content on TikTok.

A High Incidence of Perineal Post-Related Complications After Hip Arthroscopy Is Self-Reported by Patients in Anonymous Online Forums

Purpose

To evaluate online, self-reported pudendal nerve or perineal injuries related to the use of a perineal post during hip arthroscopy.

Methods

Public posts on Reddit and the Health Organization for Pudendal Education were searched to identify anonymous individuals reporting symptoms of pudendal nerve or perineal injury following hip arthroscopy. Included posts were by any individual with a self-reported history of hip arthroscopy who developed symptoms of pudendal nerve injury or damage to the perineal soft tissues. Demographic information and details about a person's symptoms and concerns were collected from each post. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.

Results

Twenty-three online posts reported on a perineal post-related complication following hip arthroscopy. Sex information was available in 16 (70%) posts (8 male, 8 female). Twenty-two posts reported a sensory injury, and 4 posts reported a motor injury with sexual consequences (sexual dysfunction, dyspareunia, impotence). Symptom duration was available in 15 (65%) posts (8 temporary, 7 permanent). Permanent symptoms included paresthesia of the perineum or genitals (7) and sexual complaints (5). Two posts stated they were counseled preoperatively about the possibility of this injury. Zero patients reported that a postless hip arthroscopy alternative was an option made available to them before surgery.

Conclusions

A high incidence of permanent pudendal nerve, perineal skin, and genitourinary/sexual complications are self-reported and discussed online by patients who have undergone post-assisted hip arthroscopy. These patients report being uninformed and undereducated about the possibility of sustaining a post-related complication. No patient reported being informed of postless hip arthroscopy preoperatively.

Clinical Relevance

Identifying and evaluating self-reported patient information in online medical forums can provide important information about patient experiences and outcomes.

Association Between Social Media Activity and Ratings on Physician Review Websites Among Orthopaedic Surgeons With an Active Online Media Presence

Background

Social media has the potential to play a substantial role in the decision-making of patients when choosing a physician for care.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to determine whether an association exists between physician social media activity and patient satisfaction ratings on physician review websites (PRWs) as well as number of reviews. It was hypothesized that there would be a significant association between physician social media utilization and patient satisfaction ratings.

Study Design

Cross-sectional study.

Methods

The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine database was queried for the complete membership list. The online media profile and level of activity of the members were evaluated, and an online media presence score was calculated. The surgeons with the approximately top 10% of online media presence scores were compiled to assess the relationship between social media usage (Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook) and patient satisfaction ratings on the Google Reviews, Healthgrades, and Vitals PRWs. Bivariate analysis was performed to compare demographic variables and level of online presence.

Results

A total of 325 surgeons were included in the analysis. The most common platform used was Facebook (88.3%). There was no significant relationship between active social media use and overall ratings on any of the PRWs. Active Twitter use was associated with a greater number of ratings on all review websites, a greater number of comments on Google Reviews and Healthgrades, and shorter patient-reported clinic wait times on Healthgrades. Active Instagram use was associated with a greater number of comments on Vitals. No relationships were observed for YouTube or Facebook.

Conclusion

For the included sports medicine surgeons who were most active on social media, no significant relationships were found between social media use and overall ratings on PRWs. Of all the platforms assessed, active use of Twitter was the only significant predictor of more reviews on PRWs. Thus, when deciding which form of social media engagement to prioritize in building one's practice, Twitter may serve as a relatively low-demand, high-reward option.

Gluten-free diet on video platforms: Retrospective infodemiology study

Background

Video platform is an important approach for individuals to access and adopt health information. Online information on gluten-free diet (GFD) videos remains underinvestigated.

Methods

GFD videos were identified by hashtag-based searching strategy. Videos' basic information, engagement metrics, and content were recorded. Mann-Kendall test was performed to examine time trends of submitting videos and engagement metrics. Video quality was evaluated by the DISCERN instrument and the HONcode.

Results

A total of 822 videos were included in the analysis, with the majority focusing on gluten-free food recipes. The number of videos related to GFD was showing an upward trend. Engagement metrics varied between platforms and video types, with non-recipe videos receiving higher user engagement. The average DISCERN score was 50.20 out of 80 and the average HONcode score was 1.93 out of 8. Videos submitted by health professionals demonstrated better quality compared to those submitted by patients or general users.

Conclusion

There was a rise in the number of videos related to GFD on Chinese video platforms. The overall quality of these videos was poor, most of them were not rigorous enough. Highlighting using social media as a health information source has the potential risk of disseminating one-sided messages and misleading. Efforts should be made to enhance the transparency of advertisements and establish clear guidelines for information sharing on social media platforms.

TikTok video as a health education source of information on heart failure in China: a content analysis

Background

Heart failure (HF) is a complex and life-threatening syndrome associated with significant morbidity and mortality. While TikTok has gained popularity as a social media platform for sharing HF-related information, the quality of such content on TikTok remains unexplored.

Methods

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted on TikTok videos related to HF in China. The sources of the videos were identified and analyzed. The content comprehensiveness of the videos was evaluated using six questions that covered definition, signs and symptoms, risk factors, evaluation, management, and outcomes. The reliability and quality of the videos were assessed using three standardized evaluation instruments: DISCERN, JAMA benchmarks, and the Global Quality Scale. Additionally, the correlation between video quality and video characteristics was further investigated.

Results

Among the video sources, 92.2% were attributed to health professionals, while news agencies and non-profit organizations accounted for 5.7% and 2.1%, respectively. The content comprehensiveness score for the videos was 3.36 (SD 3.56), with news agencies receiving the highest scores of 4.06 (SD 3.31). The median DISCERN, JAMA, and GQS scores for all 141 videos were 26.50 (IQR 25.00-28.750), 2.00 (IQR 2.00-2.00), and 2.00 (IQR 2.00-2.00), respectively. Videos from health professionals had significantly higher JAMA scores compared to those from non-profit organizations (P < 0.01). Correlation analysis between video quality and video characteristics showed positive correlations between content comprehensiveness scores and video duration (r = 0.420, P < 0.001), number of comments (r = 0.195, P < 0.05), and number of shares (r = 0.174, P < 0.05). GQS scores were negatively or positively correlated with the number of days since upload (r = -0.212, P < 0.05) and video duration (r = 0.442, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

The overall quality of the videos was found to be unsatisfactory, with variations in quality scores observed across different video sources. Content comprehensiveness was inadequate, the reliability and quality of the information presented in the videos was questionable. As TikTok continues to grow as a platform for health information, it is essential to prioritize accuracy and reliability to enhance patients' self-care abilities and promote public health.

Preventive Education Outreach on Social Media: The Quest to Enroll Community Members in a Child Sexual Prevention Workshop

Social media is a frequently used tool in health promotion efforts although less so for the prevention of child sexual abuse (CSA). This is due, in part, to the lack of standardized branding guides for community-based efforts in how to craft messages related to CSA prevention. This study examined the use of Twitter (now "X") as a means of promoting participation in the adult-focused Stewards of Children CSA prevention workshop, prior to and following the implementation of a standardized branding guide. The exposure, reach, and engagement of the top tweets and top media tweets were examined over 24-months pre- and post-implementation of a five-point branding guide. Engagement was descriptively compared to the number of adults who enrolled in the Stewards of Children workshop. As evidenced by the increase in tweet impressions and the number of adults trained, it is likely the implementation of the branding guide was beneficial in promoting participation in the Stewards of Children workshop. Though participation in a program does not inherently suggest behavior change, getting participants to enroll is a crucial first step. The findings emphasize the potential of using social media to ultimately promote behavior change in the field of CSA prevention and beyond.

Methods for Analyzing the Contents of Social Media for Health Care: Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Given the rapid development of social media, effective extraction and analysis of the contents of social media for health care have attracted widespread attention from health care providers. As far as we know, most of the reviews focus on the application of social media, and there is a lack of reviews that integrate the methods for analyzing social media information for health care.

OBJECTIVE

This scoping review aims to answer the following 4 questions: (1) What types of research have been used to investigate social media for health care, (2) what methods have been used to analyze the existing health information on social media, (3) what indicators should be applied to collect and evaluate the characteristics of methods for analyzing the contents of social media for health care, and (4) what are the current problems and development directions of methods used to analyze the contents of social media for health care?

METHODS

A scoping review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines was conducted. We searched PubMed, the Web of Science, EMBASE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and the Cochrane Library for the period from 2010 to May 2023 for primary studies focusing on social media and health care. Two independent reviewers screened eligible studies against inclusion criteria. A narrative synthesis of the included studies was conducted.

RESULTS

Of 16,161 identified citations, 134 (0.8%) studies were included in this review. These included 67 (50.0%) qualitative designs, 43 (32.1%) quantitative designs, and 24 (17.9%) mixed methods designs. The applied research methods were classified based on the following aspects: (1) manual analysis methods (content analysis methodology, grounded theory, ethnography, classification analysis, thematic analysis, and scoring tables) and computer-aided analysis methods (latent Dirichlet allocation, support vector machine, probabilistic clustering, image analysis, topic modeling, sentiment analysis, and other natural language processing technologies), (2) categories of research contents, and (3) health care areas (health practice, health services, and health education).

CONCLUSIONS

Based on an extensive literature review, we investigated the methods for analyzing the contents of social media for health care to determine the main applications, differences, trends, and existing problems. We also discussed the implications for the future. Traditional content analysis is still the mainstream method for analyzing social media content, and future research may be combined with big data research. With the progress of computers, mobile phones, smartwatches, and other smart devices, social media information sources will become more diversified. Future research can combine new sources, such as pictures, videos, and physiological signals, with online social networking to adapt to the development trend of the internet. More medical information talents need to be trained in the future to better solve the problem of network information analysis. Overall, this scoping review can be useful for a large audience that includes researchers entering the field.

Systematic Assessment of the Quality and Comprehensibility of YouTube Content on Ulnar Collateral Ligament Injury and Management

Background

Ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction has received a unique level of attention in the press and social media. There has also been an increasing use of the internet by patients to seek medical information. Concern exists regarding the quality and comprehensibility of online information when used for patient education.

Purpose

To evaluate the quality and comprehensibility of the most-viewed YouTube videos related to the diagnosis and management of UCL injuries. Based on our new evidence-based scoring rubrics, we hypothesized that the quality and comprehensibility of these videos would be poor.

Study Design

Cross-sectional study.

Methods

The YouTube platform was searched on September 7, 2021, with the terms "UCL injury," "ulnar collateral ligament injury," "UCL surgery," "ulnar collateral ligament surgery," and "Tommy John surgery," and the 50 most-viewed videos from each search were compiled, yielding 250 videos. After removal of duplicates and application of exclusion criteria, the 100 most-viewed videos remained. Basic attributes, including duration of video and number of views, were recorded. Each video was then analyzed by 2 independent reviewers and evaluated for 4 key parameters (quality of diagnostic content [QAR-D], quality of treatment content [QAR-T], presence of inaccurate information, and comprehensibility) and graded on a novel scale from 1 to 4 (4 being the most appropriate for patient education).

Results

The mean QAR-D was 4.83 ± 3.41 (fair quality), and the mean QAR-T was 2.76 ± 3.26 (poor quality). Physician-led educational videos had both the highest mean QAR-D (6.37) and the highest mean QAR-T (4.34). No correlation was observed between video quality and views/likes. A total of 12 videos included ≥1 inaccuracy. The mean comprehensibility score was 2.66 ± 1.12, with 39 videos falling below the acceptable comprehensibility threshold (score <3).

Conclusion

The overall quality of UCL injury-related YouTube content was low. In addition, the absence of correlation between video quality and views/likes suggests that patients are not preferentially utilizing the limited high-quality content that does exist on the YouTube platform. In addition, inaccurate videos were prevalent (12%), and almost half of all videos were deemed inappropriate for patient education in terms of comprehensibility, as defined by our comprehensibility parameter.

Quality of Information in Gallstone Disease Videos on TikTok: Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND

TikTok was an important channel for consumers to access and adopt health information. But the quality of health content in TikTok remains underinvestigated.

OBJECTIVE

Our study aimed to identify upload sources, contents, and feature information of gallstone disease videos on TikTok and further evaluated the factors related to video quality.

METHODS

We investigated the first 100 gallstone-related videos on TikTok and analyzed these videos' upload sources, content, and characteristics. The quality of videos was evaluated using quantitative scoring tools such as DISCERN instrument, the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria, and Global Quality Scores (GQS). Moreover, the correlation between video quality and video characteristics, including duration, likes, comments, and shares, was further investigated.

RESULTS

According to video sources, 81% of the videos were posted by doctors. Furthermore, disease knowledge was the most dominant video content, accounting for 56% of all the videos. The mean DISCERN, JAMA, and GQS scores of all 100 videos are 39.61 (SD 11.36), 2.00 (SD 0.40), and 2.76 (SD 0.95), respectively. According to DISCERN and GQS, gallstone-related videos' quality score on TikTok is not high, mainly at fair (43/100, 43%,) and moderate (46/100, 46%). The total DISCERN scores of doctors were significantly higher than that of individuals and news agencies, surgery techniques were significantly higher than lifestyle and news, and disease knowledge was significantly higher than news, respectively. DISCERN scores and video duration were positively correlated. Negative correlations were found between DISCERN scores and likes and shares of videos. In GQS analysis, no significant differences were found between groups based on different sources or different contents. JAMA was excluded in the video quality and correlation analysis due to a lack of discrimination and inability to evaluate the video quality accurately.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the videos of gallstones on TikTok are mainly provided by doctors and contain disease knowledge, they are of low quality. We found a positive correlation between video duration and video quality. High-quality videos received low attention, and popular videos were of low quality. Medical information on TikTok is currently not rigorous enough to guide patients to make accurate judgments. TikTok was not an appropriate source of knowledge to educate patients due to the low quality and reliability of the information.

Scoliosis Surgery: A Social Media Analysis of Content, Tone, and Perspective

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study was to analyze posts shared on social media sites, Twitter and Instagram, referencing scoliosis surgery for tone, content, and perspective of the posts.

METHODS

Public Twitter and Instagram posts from November 2020 to April 2021 were isolated using the hashtag #ScoliosisSurgery or the words "scoliosis surgery." A total of 5,022 Instagram and 1,414 Twitter posts were collected, of which 500 of each were randomly selected to be analyzed by the authors for the variables previously listed.

RESULTS

Of the Instagram posts, 91.8% were associated with an image, and 47.8% were postoperative. 96.9% of the posts had either a positive or neutral tone. 38% delivered a progress update, and 29.9% disseminated education or sought to provide awareness. 48.6% of the posts were from the perspective of the patient. Of the Twitter posts, 60.1% contained only words, and 37.8% were postoperative. 75% of the posts had either a negative or neutral tone. 38.4% described a personal story, and 19.3% provided a progress update. 42.3% of the posts were from the perspective of the patient.

CONCLUSION

Patients reported a positive tone on Instagram, displaying their progress updates and demonstrating contentment with scoliosis surgery, and a negative tone on Twitter, showing discontentment toward inadequate access to surgery. Although both platforms were used to distribute information and provide awareness, only a small percentage of posts were from physicians and hospitals, indicating opportunities for surgeons to use social media to connect with patients.

YouTube as a source of patient education information for elbow ulnar collateral ligament injuries: a quality control content analysis

Background

While online orthopedic resources are becoming an increasingly popular avenue for patient education, videos on YouTube are not subject to peer review. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the quality of YouTube videos for patient education in ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injuries of the elbow.

Methods

A search of keywords for UCL injury was conducted through the YouTube search engine. Each video was categorized by source and content. Video quality, reliability, and accuracy were assessed by two independent raters using five metrics: (1) Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria (range 0–4) for video reliability; (2) modified DISCERN score (range 1–5) for video reliability; (3) Global Quality Score (GQS; range 1–5) for video quality; (4) ulnar collateral ligament-specific score (UCL-SS; range 0–16), a novel score for comprehensiveness of health information presented; and (5) accuracy score (AS; range 1-3) for accuracy.

Results

Video content was comprised predominantly of disease-specific information (52%) and surgical technique (33%). The most common video sources were physician (42%) and commercial (23%). The mean JAMA score, modified DISCERN score, GQS, UCL-SS, and AS were 1.8, 2.4, 1.9, 5.3, and 2.7 respectively.

Conclusions

Overall, YouTube is not a reliable or high-quality source for patients seeking information regarding UCL injuries, especially with videos uploaded by non-physician sources. The multiplicity of low quality, low reliability, and irrelevant videos can create a cumbersome and even inaccurate learning experience for patients.