ARE POSTS ABOUT TRIGGER FINGER ON THE SOCIAL NETWORK INSTAGRAM OF ADEQUATE QUALITY AND RELIABILITY?

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Hand Surgery
• Medical Education

Background:

• Trigger finger (stenosing tenosynovitis) is a prevalent hand condition causing pain and limiting function.
• Social media platforms like Instagram are increasingly used for health information.
• Evaluating the quality of online health content is crucial for public understanding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the quality and reliability of trigger finger information on Instagram.
• To compare content quality based on creator and format.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional observational study analyzing 118 Instagram posts under #triggerfinger and #stenosingtenosynovitis.
• Content evaluated by two independent orthopedic residents using modified DISCERN and Global Quality Score (GQS).

Main Results:

• Information quality ranged from very low to moderate.
• Content from hand surgeons demonstrated higher quality scores.
• Longer content duration correlated positively with better quality.
• Instagram Reels format offered superior informational quality.

Conclusions:

• Trigger finger information on Instagram is generally of low to moderate quality.
• Content created by hand surgeons exhibits greater technical accuracy.
• The Reels format appears to be the most effective for delivering high-quality information on trigger finger.