Accuracy, Quality and Readability of Knee Osteoarthritis Information on Social Media (Instagram e TikTok) and Search Platforms (Google e YouTube): A Cross-Sectional Study.
- 1Programa de pós-graduação em Saúde, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil.
- 2Programa de pós-graduação em Ciências da Reabilitação e Desempenho Físico Funcional, Faculdade de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil.
- 3Faculdade de Fisioterapia, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil.
Abstract
Background
Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a chronic condition with a high global prevalence, often resulting in functional decline. Faced with this, many people turn to the internet to find information about the disease and available treatments. Besides the amount of content available online, it does not ensure its accuracy, quality and readability. This study aims to evaluate the accuracy, quality and readability of KOA-related information available on Instagram, TikTok, Google and YouTube in Brazilian Portuguese.Methods
Google and YouTube searches were performed using 'Tratamento de osteoartrite de joelho', 'Tratamento de artrose no joelho' and 'Tratamento de artrite no joelho'. For each term, the first 20 results were selected. Searches on Instagram and TikTok were conducted using the hashtags: #artrosenojoelho, #artrosedojoelho, and #artrosedejoelho, selecting the first 100 posts for each term. All the research was done on June 19, 2024. Content accuracy was assessed against a reference resource on knee osteoarthritis, information quality was assessed using DISCERN, and the readability of Google content was evaluated using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scale.Results
We found that the information about medical management was the most classified as inaccurate. The overall DISCERN score indicated low quality (2.3 ± 0.7) and 78% of Google texts required at least 14 years of schooling to read.Conclusion
As digital platforms have become a widely used source of health information, our findings raise concerns about the potential for misinformation to delay effective treatment and perpetuate low-value care.
Related
- Quality and accuracy of complementary feeding information on Instagram: A cross-sectional content analysis study
- Evaluating AI chatbots as sources of public-facing encephalitis health information: a cross-sectional comparative study of quality, transparency, and readability
- Generative AI chatbots as sources of phimosis-related consumer health information: a cross-sectional comparison of quality, source transparency, and readability.
- AI-generated high-intensity interval training information: a cross-sectional comparative evaluation of quality and readability
- Quality indicators, reliability, transparency and content completeness of short-video information on traditional Chinese medicine for insomnia across three major Chinese platforms: a cross-sectional study
BibTeX
@article{castro2026accuracy,
title = {{Accuracy, Quality and Readability of Knee Osteoarthritis Information on Social Media (Instagram e TikTok) and Search Platforms (Google e YouTube): A Cross-Sectional Study.}},
author = {Rayane Quintão Castro and Giovanna Ferreira de Oliveira and Marcella Nogueira Marques and Victória Beatriz Silva and Diogo Simões Fonseca and Carla Malaguti},
journal = {Musculoskeletal care},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/msc.70267},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42952241},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Accuracy, Quality and Readability of Knee Osteoarthritis Information on Social Media (Instagram e TikTok) and Search Platforms (Google e YouTube): A Cross-Sectional Study.
AU - Rayane Quintão Castro
AU - Giovanna Ferreira de Oliveira
AU - Marcella Nogueira Marques
AU - Victória Beatriz Silva
AU - Diogo Simões Fonseca
AU - Carla Malaguti
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - Musculoskeletal care
DO - 10.1002/msc.70267
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42952241
AB - Background Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a chronic condition with a high global prevalence, often resulting in functional decline. Faced with this, many people turn to the internet to find information about the disease and available treatments. Besides the amount of content available online, it does not ensure its accuracy, quality and readability. This study aims to evaluate the accuracy, quality and readability of KOA-related information available on Instagram, TikTok, Google and YouTube in Brazilian Portuguese.Methods Google and YouTube searches were performed using 'Tratamento de osteoartrite de joelho', 'Tratamento de artrose no joelho' and 'Tratamento de artrite no joelho'. For each term, the first 20 results were selected. Searches on Instagram and TikTok were conducted using the hashtags: #artrosenojoelho, #artrosedojoelho, and #artrosedejoelho, selecting the first 100 posts for each term. All the research was done on June 19, 2024. Content accuracy was assessed against a reference resource on knee osteoarthritis, information quality was assessed using DISCERN, and the readability of Google content was evaluated using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level scale.Results We found that the information about medical management was the most classified as inaccurate. The overall DISCERN score indicated low quality (2.3 ± 0.7) and 78% of Google texts required at least 14 years of schooling to read.Conclusion As digital platforms have become a widely used source of health information, our findings raise concerns about the potential for misinformation to delay effective treatment and perpetuate low-value care.
SN - 1478-2189
SN - 1557-0681
ER -