Comparative Analysis of Knee Osteoarthritis Treatment Information on Popular Social Media Platforms.

Introduction: With the rise of social media as a source for health information, there is concern about the spread of unregulated, potentially misleading content. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of knee osteoarthritis (OA) treatment information on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram platforms where patients often seek medical advice.

Methods: TikTok videos, Instagram posts, and YouTube videos focusing on knee OA treatment and meeting specific engagement thresholds were identified using a standardized search. Six reviewers, including orthopaedic faculty and residents, assessed the content's accuracy and reliability using a 10-question Social Media Outreach Content Assessment & Review Tool (SOCART), adapted from the DISCERN instrument. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance, linear regression, and mixed methods.

Results: The study reviewed 130 social media posts (YouTube: 30, TikTok: 50, Instagram: 50). YouTube had the highest median number of followers/subscribers, whereas TikTok had the most likes/day and comments/day. Most TikTok (66.7%) and Instagram (92.0%) content creators were from private practices, whereas YouTube creators were mainly affiliated with academic institutions (40.0%). YouTube scored the highest in SOCART assessments (32.86 ± 0.89/50), markedly outperforming Instagram (21.30 ± 0.69/50) and TikTok (20.34 ± 0.87/50; P < 0.001). Content from academic institutions scored higher than that from nonacademic sources (28.04 ± 1.05 vs. 21.77 ± 0.859, P = 0.014).

Conclusion: YouTube's high ratings in all SOCART instrument categories suggest that it presents higher-quality information about knee OA treatments relative to Instagram and TikTok. However, YouTube content was still found to be inaccurate and unreliable, making it unsatisfactory for dissemination of important health information. In addition, despite having the lowest SOCART scores, TikTok received the most engagement. This study highlights two important findings: social media presents a risk for patient misinformation when seeking medical advice, and it creates opportunities for physicians to connect with patients using platforms with higher user engagement. Physicians and medical societies can use this information during educational content creation to inform platform choice and dissemination strategies.