Diverticulosis and Diverticulitis on YouTube: Is Popular Information the Most Reliable?

Background Patients utilize online health information to inform their medical decision-making. YouTube is one of the most popular media platforms with abundant health-related resources, yet the quality of the disseminated information remains unclear. This study aims to evaluate the quality and reliability of content pertaining to diverticulosis and diverticulitis on YouTube. Methods One author queried the terms "diverticulosis," "diverticulitis," "acute diverticulitis," and "chronic diverticulitis" on YouTube. The first 50 videos per search were selected for analysis. Duplicates, non-English videos, or procedural content were excluded. Video characteristics including view count, likes, comments, duration, days since upload, view ratio, video power index, and video sources (professional organizations (POs), health information websites (HIWs), and entertainment/independent users (EIUs)) were collected. Videos were scored using the mDISCERN and Global Quality Score (GQS). Results Sixty-four videos were included. DISCERN scores significantly differed between POs (n=20, mean=4.35), HIWs (n=29, mean=2.97), and EIUs (n=15, mean=1.83). GQS also significantly differed between POs (n=20, mean=4.47), HIWs (n=29, mean=3.62), and EIUs (n=15, mean=2.5). Video characteristics significantly differed between groups, with most user engagement seen in EIUs. Conclusion POs and HIWs disseminate higher quality health information about diverticular disease on YouTube. The higher viewer engagement with EIUs is concerning, as these sources were found to have lower quality content. Although YouTube has the capability to provide valuable information on diverticulosis and diverticulitis, enhanced content screening is needed to ensure accuracy and validation.