Digital health information on surgical treatment options for overactive bladder is underrepresented.

PURPOSE: Digital health information gains growing importance in the medical landscape. Despite its opportunities, there is a risk of patient misinformation which may adversely influence the patient-physician relationship. This investigation aimed to identify and compare differences in the content and quality of online health information on overactive bladder (OAB) between different digital platforms. METHODS: The platforms Google search, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube were searched for the keyword OAB. The search result links were classified as useful or misleading, advertisement and personal experience. Information regarding the organization of the source and available content on treatment modalities was collected. Descriptive analysis was applied. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate heterogeneity regarding the distribution of information depending on the source. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The source with the highest quantity of useful content was YouTube (100%) and Google (100%), whereas LinkedIn included mostly misleading content (73%). YouTube and Google provided the greatest variety of health information and were dominated by professional associations. Surgical procedures for treating OAB were only described in 32% and 48% of Google and YouTube results, respectively. On Google, sacral neuromodulation and OnabotulinumtoxinA were described in 26% and bladder augmentation in only 16% of the search results. In contrast, alternative medicine was present in 76%. CONCLUSIONS: A large gap in the information on surgical treatments of OAB could be identified independently from the utilized source. In contrast, conservative treatments and alternative medicine dominate the current informational sources.

Comparison of online health information between different digital platforms for pelvic organ prolapse.

PURPOSE: To identify differences in the content and quality of online health information for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) presented in social media and digital search engines to sustainably enhance patient guidance for adequate platforms for seeking online health information on POP. METHODS: The platforms Google search, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube were searched for the keyword "pelvic organ prolapse". Results were categorized as useful, misleading, advertising, and personal experience. Data were categorized into healthcare professionals, professional organisations, industry, patients, and individuals. The readability score and Health On the Net (HON) code seal were analyzed for Google. Descriptive and univariate analysis was performed. RESULTS: The source with the highest quantity of useful content was YouTube whereas LinkedIn included mostly advertisement and misleading content. YouTube and Google provided the greatest variety of health information. Social media platforms identified emotional distress and sleep disturbances as a common side effect of POP which is limited considered in clinical practice and provide novel insights of bothersome symptoms related to the disease. The spectrum of different surgical techniques was limited in all platforms. Only 12 (40.0%) were HON-qualified websites with a mean readability score of 10.4 which is considered fairly difficult to read. CONCLUSION: Besides Google search, YouTube was identified as a valuable online source for POP information. However, encompassing information of surgical techniques was limited in all platforms. Urogynecological association may contribute to improve patient information by providing online health information which is complete and easy to understand.