A content-quality and optimization analysis of YouTube as a source of patient information for bipolar disorder.

Background: The goal of this study was to identify and evaluate the use of Arabic YouTube videos on BD as a resource for patient education. Methods: A cross-sectional evaluation of YouTube videos as a source of information for patients with BD in Arabic was performed. The study was observational and, because it did not involve human subjects, it followed the STROBE guidelines whenever possible. The quality of the videos was assessed using the validated DISCERN instrument. The search strategy involved entering the term "bipolar disorder" in the YouTube search bar, and only YouTube videos in Arabic were included. Results: A total of 58 videos were included in this study after removing duplicates and videos unrelated to BD (Figure 1). The most common source of videos was others (38%), followed by physician (33%), educational (26%), and hospital (3%). Resources covering symptoms and prognosis were mostly in the "others" category (41%). The resources or videos that covered treatment options were mainly created by physicians (41%). However, resources or videos that included a personal story mainly belonged to the "others" category (67%). Conclusion: Visual health-related instructional resources still have a significant shortage. This study highlights the poor quality of videos about serious illnesses like BD. Evaluation and promotion of the creation of visual health-related educational resources should be the primary goal of future study.

Content and Quality of Information about Stroke in Wikipedia across Multiple Languages.

BACKGROUND: Given the high contribution of stroke to the global burden of disease, there is a need for good-quality information on Web platforms such as Wikipedia. AIMS: This study aimed to describe the quality of the Wikipedia articles on stroke written in different languages. METHODS: We studied the world's 30 most spoken languages. With the DISCERN score, we evaluated the quality of the information within the Wikipedia articles. Three investigators assessed each of the texts translated to English. We also registered the word count, the number of references, and if the text referred to the emergency status of stroke, cues to suspect a stroke, and allusions to endovascular treatment. RESULTS: There is a Wikipedia article for stroke in 23 out of the 30 languages. The mean DISCERN score was 35 29.9 ± 9.2. Overall quality ranged from 3/5 in 26.1% to 1/5 in 17.4%. Word count had a mean of 36 3,145.8 ± 3,048.9 words, and the texts included a mean of 43.1 ± 57.3 references; 69.6% of the articles referred to stroke as a medical emergency, 52.2% included awareness symptoms, and 34.8% included endovascular management among the stroke treatments. Three pages included steroids as part of the stroke treatment. The DISCERN score was not correlated with the number of speakers, but it was positively correlated with the number of references (r = 0.90, p < 0.001) and the number of words (r = 0.78, p < 0.001) in the articles. CONCLUSION: The analyzed Wikipedia articles do not contain relevant and up-to-date information to the general population. Further, the content varies widely across the different languages and is missing for some of them. The missing versions disproportionally affect millions of potential information seekers in undeveloped countries.

Evaluation of the quality and accuracy of breast cancer knowledge among persian language websites.

INTRODUCTION: The internet has become a powerful worldwide information source that revolutionized access to knowledge, especially in the fields of health and medicine (health knowledge). Therefore, providing high-quality, accurate, reliable, and relevant information on dependable websites is a possible way of providing the patient with needed information and, thus, achieving the benefits of informed patients regarding outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the quality and accuracy of breast cancer knowledge among Persian language websites. METHODS: Two search engines were searched in the Persian language about breast cancer. The first 30 websites were selected for further evaluation based on the completeness, correctness, transparency, and accessibility of health knowledge. The DISCERN instrument was used to assess the quality of the Persian language websites on this issue. RESULTS: Among the 30 websites, about 23% of websites provide completely correct information and about 30% provide mostly correct information. Sixty percent of the websites provided author information, and 46% of them had a healthcare professional or expert as the author. Sixty percent of the websites stated the creation date on the pages, while 40% of them did not provide any health knowledge. Scores on accessibility were always easy for most of the websites. Based on the quality rating system of DISCERN, about 60% of the websites were presented as very poor. CONCLUSION: Website rankings enable healthcare professionals to identify and signpost patients to reliable up-to-date websites to ensure that patients receive high-quality knowledge. This review has provided evidence of inadequate and inaccurate health knowledge about breast cancer on the Persian language websites. This issue requires further investigation to understand the barriers and solutions available to provide reliable information about breast cancer and how this information affects the patient's outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The project was found to be in accordance with the ethical principles and the national norms and standards for conducting research in Iran with the approval ID and date of IR.TUMS.IKHC.REC.1399.379 and 2021-01-01 respectively, and is registered with research project number 49890 in the Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology Development of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. URL: https://ethics. RESEARCH: ac.ir/EthicsProposalViewEn.php?id=170978 .

Quality Assessment of Hypertension Treatment-Related Information on WeChat: Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: The WeChat platform has become a primary source for medical information in China. However, no study has been conducted to explore the quality of information on WeChat for the treatment of hypertension, the leading chronic condition. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the quality of information in articles on WeChat that are related to hypertension treatment from the aspects of credibility, concreteness, accuracy, and completeness. METHODS: We searched for all information related to hypertension treatment on WeChat based on several inclusion and exclusion criteria. We used 2 tools to evaluate information quality, and 2 independent reviewers performed the assessment with the 2 tools separately. First, we adopted the DISCERN instrument to assess the credibility and concreteness of the treatment information, with the outcomes classified into five grades: excellent, good, fair, poor, and very poor. Second, we applied the Chinese Guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension (2018 edition) to evaluate the accuracy and completeness of the article information with regard to specific medical content. Third, we combined the results from the 2 assessments to arrive at the overall quality of the articles and explored the differences between, and associations of, the 2 independent assessments. RESULTS: Of the 223 articles that were retrieved, 130 (58.3%) full texts were included. Of these 130 articles, 81 (62.3%) described therapeutic measures for hypertension. The assessment based on the DISCERN instrument reported a mean score of 31.22 (SD 8.46). There were no articles rated excellent (mean score >63); most (111/130, 85.4%) of the articles did not refer to the consequences-in particular, quality of life-of no treatment. For specific medical content, adherence to the Chinese Guidelines for Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension was generally low in terms of accuracy and completeness, and there was much erroneous information. The overall mean quality score was 10.18 (SD 2.22) for the 130 articles, and the scores differed significantly across the 3 types (P=.03) and 5 sources (P=.02). Articles with references achieved higher scores for quality than those reporting none (P<.001). The results from the DISCERN assessment and the medical content scores were highly correlated (ρ=0.58; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The quality of hypertension treatment-related information on the WeChat platform is low. Future work is warranted to regulate information sources and strengthen references. For the treatment of hypertension, crucial information on the consequences of no treatment is urgently needed.

Evaluation of Medical Information on Male Sexual Dysfunction on Baidu Encyclopedia and Wikipedia: Comparative Study.

BACKGROUND: Sexual dysfunction is a private set of disorders that may cause stigma for patients when discussing their private problems with doctors. They might also feel reluctant to initiate a face-to-face consultation. Internet searches are gradually becoming the first choice for people with sexual dysfunction to obtain health information. Globally, Wikipedia is the most popular and consulted validated encyclopedia website in the English-speaking world. Baidu Encyclopedia is becoming the dominant source in Chinese-speaking regions; however, the objectivity and readability of the content are yet to be evaluated. OBJECTIVE: Hence, we aimed to evaluate the reliability, readability, and objectivity of male sexual dysfunction content on Wikipedia and Baidu Encyclopedia. METHODS: The Chinese Baidu Encyclopedia and English Wikipedia were investigated. All possible synonymous and derivative keywords for the most common male sexual dysfunction, erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, and their most common complication, chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome, were screened. Two doctors evaluated the articles on Chinese Baidu Encyclopedia and English Wikipedia. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) scoring system, DISCERN instrument, and Global Quality Score (GQS) were used to assess the quality of disease-related articles. RESULTS: The total DISCERN scores (P=.002) and JAMA scores (P=.001) for Wikipedia were significantly higher than those of Baidu Encyclopedia; there was no statistical difference between the GQS scores (P=.31) for these websites. Specifically, the DISCERN Section 1 score (P<.001) for Wikipedia was significantly higher than that of Baidu Encyclopedia, while the differences between the DISCERN Section 2 and 3 scores (P=.14 and P=.17, respectively) were minor. Furthermore, Wikipedia had a higher proportion of high total DISCERN scores (P<.001) and DISCERN Section 1 scores (P<.001) than Baidu Encyclopedia. Baidu Encyclopedia and Wikipedia both had low DISCERN Section 2 and 3 scores (P=.49 and P=.99, respectively), and most of these scores were low quality. CONCLUSIONS: Wikipedia provides more reliable, higher quality, and more objective information than Baidu Encyclopedia. Yet, there are opportunities for both platforms to vastly improve their content quality. Moreover, both sites had similar poor quality content on treatment options. Joint efforts of physicians, physician associations, medical institutions, and internet platforms are needed to provide reliable, readable, and objective knowledge about diseases.

Readability and quality of Wikipedia articles on pelvic floor disorders.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: This study is aimed at evaluating the readability and quality of Wikipedia articles on pelvic floor disorders (PFD) and comparing their content with International Urogynecological Association patient education leaflets. METHODS: Readability was assessed using six different readability scales, including the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) Index, which is considered superior for scoring healthcare information. Quality was assessed by three female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery fellows using the modified DISCERN instrument. DISCERN is validated to evaluate the quality of written consumer health information; it was subsequently modified by health education researchers to enable the evaluation of Wikipedia articles. RESULTS: We evaluated 30 Wikipedia articles that correlated with 29 International Urogynecological Association leaflets. The mean SMOG score of the Wikipedia articles was 12.0 ± 2.1 (12th-grade reading level) whereas the mean SMOG score of the International Urological Association (IUGA) leaflets was 3.4 ± 0.3 (third-grade reading level, p < 0.001). The mean modified DISCERN score of the Wikipedia articles was 34.43 ± 5.90 (moderate quality); however, the mean modified DISCERN score of the IUGA literature was 45.02 ± 1.36 (good quality, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Wikipedia articles on PFD are neither readable nor reliable: they require a 12th-grade-level education for comprehension and are merely rated moderate in quality. In comparison, IUGA leaflets require a third-grade education for comprehension and are rated good in quality. Urogynecological providers should provide appropriate health education materials to patients, as Wikipedia is both a popular and sometimes inaccurate resource for patients.

Evaluation of the Liver Disease Information in Baidu Encyclopedia and Wikipedia: Longitudinal Study.

BACKGROUND: The internet has changed the way of people acquiring health information. Previous studies have shown that Wikipedia is a reasonably reliable medical resource, and it has been ranked higher than other general websites in various search engines. Baidu Encyclopedia is one of the most popular encyclopedia websites in China. However, no studies have shown the quality of the content provided in the Baidu Encyclopedia. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the quality of liver disease information provided by Wikipedia (in English) and Baidu Encyclopedia (in Chinese) and to perform a comparison of the quality and timeliness of the articles published in these two encyclopedias. Moreover, a 3-year follow-up study was conducted to compare if the information in both these websites was updated regularly over this period. METHODS: We searched for information on liver diseases by using the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision Version 2016 codes on Wikipedia (in English) and Baidu Encyclopedia (in Chinese). The quality of the articles was assessed using the DISCERN instrument, which consists of 3 sections. We recorded the latest editing date of the webpages and calculated the date interval to evaluate the update timeliness of these websites. RESULTS: We found 22 entries on liver diseases in Baidu Encyclopedia and 15 articles in Wikipedia between September 15, 2016, and September 30, 2016, and we found 25 entries in Baidu Encyclopedia and 16 articles in Wikipedia between September 15, 2019, and September 30, 2019. In section 1 of the DISCERN instrument, the mean (SE) scores of Baidu Encyclopedia entries were significantly lower than those of Wikipedia articles. In section 2 and section 3 of the DISCERN instrument, the DISCERN scores of Baidu Encyclopedia entries were lower than those of Wikipedia articles, but the differences were not statistically significant. The total DISCERN scores of Baidu Encyclopedia entries were significantly lower than those of Wikipedia articles. The update interval of the entries in Baidu Encyclopedia was found to be significantly longer than that of the articles in Wikipedia. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that the quality of articles and the reliability of the research content on liver diseases in Wikipedia are better than those of the entries in Baidu Encyclopedia. However, the quality of the treatment choices provided in both Wikipedia and Baidu Encyclopedia is not satisfactory. Wikipedia is updated more frequently than Baidu Encyclopedia, thereby ensuring that the information presented has the most recent research findings. The findings of our study suggest that in order to find accurate health information, it is important to seek the help of medical professionals instead of looking for a prescription amid the confusing information provided on the internet.

Are DISCERN and JAMA Suitable Instruments for Assessing YouTube Videos on Thyroid Cancer? Methodological Concerns.

The incidence of thyroid cancer continues to increase worldwide. The challenge facing the treatment of thyroid cancers is related to the fact that this disease exhibits a broad range of clinical behaviour from indolent tumour to very aggressive malignancies. Therefore, the public and patient education about thyroid cancer are becoming a crucial step in facing the challenge imposed by this cancer. Currently, social media channels such as YouTube, a video-sharing website on the Internet, play a significant role in public and patient education. Research on the part of YouTube in public education about cancer is on the rise, including a paper on thyroid cancer published recently in the Journal of Cancer Education. However, researchers conducting studies should use tools that are designed to assess videos, not written information or websites. DISCERN instrument and JAMA benchmark tools are not intended to evaluate videos such as those of YouTube. An ideal instrument for assessing YouTube should cover several parameters to identify educationally useful videos, including (i) scientific accuracy of video content, (ii) clarity of the massage given, (iii) authority (creator), (iv) pedagogy and educational basis and (v) technical design, including quality images and good visuals, production style, quality scripts, clear sounds and no noises in the background. While video images help in reinforcing the words and the message, both picture and sound quality are vital in creating a strong mental impression and engaging the audience. This commentary calls for the development of a standardised protocol that can help researchers to enhance their research publications and ensure that adequate and accurate data have been collected and analysed. Such a move will help us in establishing the right literature in this area and will help researchers conducting reviews and meta-analysis on YouTube videos.

Evaluation Breast Cancer Information on The Internet in Arabic.

Nowadays, medical information regarding various diseases and disorders is available online. The Internet has become the first choice for the patient when it comes to gathering detailed information about a disease or problem. Therefore, in view of this frequent occurrence, the information that is provided online needs to be accurate; providing comprehensive facts, transparency, and quality. A study was carried out to determine the accuracy of information related to breast cancer on various websites. Websites which share information online about breast cancer, in the Arabic language, were selected. The quality of the websites was to be evaluated; however, there is no standard method for evaluating the quality of health websites. Hence, a rating form was developed for this study, to determine the completeness and transparency of a specific number of websites using three popular search engines. A 16-item questionnaire was prepared and validated to determine the quality of individual websites in addition to using the DISCERN instrument for assessing consumer health information. Most of the websites (approximately 47%) were deemed to be commercial in nature. Thirty-three percent were developed by non-profit organizations. They disseminated information concerning the risk factors (93%), screening, mammography (93%), surgical treatment (93%), chemotherapy (89%), radiotherapy (93%), and complementary medicine (0%) surrounding the treatment of breast cancer. About 67% of the websites were estimated to give completely correct information. Incidentally, only five websites had a healthcare professional or expert as the author, while nine of them had no author. Although numerous breast cancer-related websites exist, most do a poor job in providing Arabic-speaking women with comprehensive information about breast cancer surgery. Providing easily-accessible, high-quality online information has the potential to significantly improve patients' experiences.

Is Wikipedia a reliable learning resource for medical students? Evaluating respiratory topics.

The aim of the present study was to critically evaluate the accuracy and readability of English Wikipedia articles on the respiratory system and its disorders and whether they can be a suitable resource for medical students. On April 27, 2014, English Wikipedia was searched for articles on respiratory topics. Using a modified DISCERN instrument, articles were independently scored by three assessors. The scoring targeted content accuracy, frequency of updating, and quality of references. The readability of articles was measured using two other instruments. The mean DISCERN score for the 40 articles identified was 26.4±6.3. Most articles covered causes, signs and symptoms, prevention, and treatment. However, several knowledge deficiencies in the pathogenesis of diseases, investigations needed, and treatment were observed. The total number of references for the 40 articles was 1,654, and the references varied from 0 to 168 references, but several problems were identified in the list of references and citations made. The readability of articles was in the range of 9.4±1.8 to 22.6±10.7 using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level instrument and 10.0±2.6 to 19.6±8.3 using the Readability Coleman-Liau index. A strong correlation was found between the two instruments (r2=0.744, P<0.001). The agreement between the assessors had mean κ scores in the range of 0.712-0.857. In conclusion, despite the effort placed in creating Wikipedia respiratory articles by anonymous volunteers (wikipedians), most articles had knowledge deficiencies, were not accurate, and were not suitable for medical students as learning resources.