The Internet vs kidney stones: What is the state of online kidney stone prevention information?

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of kidney stones continues to increase despite strong evidence of medical prevention of stone formation. With many patients seeking health information online, little is known regarding the quality of kidney stone prevention information available today. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality of kidney stone prevention information online. METHODS: We analyzed the first 50 results of the search term “kidney stone prevention” on the most popular search engine (Google), long-form media player (YouTube), short-form media player (TikTok) and social media platform (Instagram). Only content in English, related to the topic, and with greater than 1,000 views (when available) were included. Video quality was assessed utilizing DISCERN, a tool used to appraise consumer health information and the proportion of content that accurately represents AUA medical management guidelines. RESULTS: The average DISCERN score was statistically greatest on Google (60.1) followed by Youtube (40.4), TikTok (26.6) and Instagram (28.8). The most common type of content creator was Health Systems on Google (72%), physician personal creator on YouTube (56%), and non-physician personal creator on TikTok (84%) and Instagram (56%). TikTok is the only platform that shows a significantly different DISCERN score between healthcare/physician creators and non-physician creators. CONCLUSION: Kidney stone prevention content on the Internet is strongest on Google. The majority of videos on TikTok and Instagram are of low quality and fail to address AUA guidelines. Increased engagement on these platforms by urologists can improve education.