Quality and Reliability of Raynaud’s Phenomenon Information on YouTube: A Cross-Sectional Study
Abstract views: 185
/ 
PDF downloads: 184
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58600/eurjther2781Keywords:
health information, quality assessment, Raynaud's phenomenon, Raynaoud's disease, social media, Alzheimer's Disease, YouTubeAbstract
Objective: Raynaud’s phenomenon, impacting small blood vessels, can be triggered by cold or emotional stress and present as a primary disorder or a symptom of other diseases. Given the growing use of platforms like YouTube for health information, assessing the reliability of Raynaud’s phenomenon videos is crucial. This study aimed to assess the quality, reliability, and educational merit of YouTube videos about Raynaud’s phenomenon.
Methods: A YouTube search was performed on February 10, 2025, including videos uploaded since 2012. YouTube search utilized keywords like ‘Raynaud’s phenomenon’, ‘Raynaud’s syndrome’, ‘Primary Raynaud’s disease’, ‘Secondary Raynaud’s disease’, ‘Primary Raynaud’s phenomenon’, ‘Secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon’ and ‘Raynaud’s disease’. The Global Quality Scale (GQS), modified DISCERN, and a usefulness scale were used by two independent raters to assess video content characteristics.
Results: 100 videos underwent evaluation. The GQS assessment revealed 49 high-quality videos (49%), 23 intermediate-quality videos (23%), and 28 low-quality videos (28%). Modified DISCERN and GQS scores showed a strong positive correlation (r = 0.709, p <0.001), while popularity measures did not significantly correlate with quality scores. Raynaud’s phenomenon information on YouTube is unreliable and inconsistent; videos created by rheumatologists have the highest quality.
Conclusion: Healthcare professionals should direct patients to trustworthy sources, develop evidence-based materials to enhance the quality of online health information, and seek collaboration with other healthcare professionals. The overall quality of Raynaud’s phenomenon-related YouTube videos was found to be highly variable, with nearly half rated as high quality, while a significant portion lacked sufficient reliability and educational value.
References
Herrick AL. (2012) The pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of Raynaud phenomenon. Nat Rev Rheumatol. 8:469-479. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2012.96
Hughes M. (2019) Effect of Season on Internet Searches for Information on Raynaud Phenomenon. J Rheumatol. 46:1543-1544. https://doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.190463
Pope J. (2013) Raynaud’s phenomenon (primary). BMJ Clin Evid. 2013:1119.
Wigley FM, Flavahan NA. (2016) Raynaud’s Phenomenon. N Engl J Med. 375:556-565. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra1507638
Madathil KC, Rivera-Rodriguez AJ, Greenstein JS, Gramopadhye AK. (2015) Healthcare information on YouTube: A systematic review. Health Informatics J. 21:173-194. https://doi.org/10.1177/1460458213512220
Onder ME, Zengin O. (2021) YouTube as a source of information on gout: a quality analysis. Rheumatol Int. 41:1321-1328. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-021-04813-7
Kocyigit BF, Akyol A. (2021) YouTube as a source of information on COVID-19 vaccination in rheumatic diseases. Rheumatol Int. 41:2109-2115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-021-05010-2
Frost JH, Massagli MP. (2008) Social uses of personal health information within PatientsLikeMe, an online patient community: what can happen when patients have access to one another’s data. J Med Internet Res. 10:e15. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.1053
Coşkun BN, Yagiz B, Giounous Chalil E, Dalkılıç E, Pehlivan Y. (2024) The usefulness and reliability of English-language YouTube videos as a source of knowledge for patients with familial Mediterranean fever. PeerJ. 12:e16857. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16857
Kunst H, Groot D, Latthe PM, Latthe M, Khan KS. (2002) Accuracy of information on apparently credible websites: survey of five common health topics. Bmj. 324:581-582. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.324.7337.581
Singh AG, Singh S, Singh PP. (2012) YouTube for information on rheumatoid arthritis--a wakeup call? J Rheumatol. 39:899-903. https://doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.111114
Elangovan S, Kwan YH, Fong W. (2021) The usefulness and validity of English-language videos on YouTube as an educational resource for spondyloarthritis. Clin Rheumatol. 40:1567-1573. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-020-05377-w
Ng CH, Lim GRS, Fong W. (2020) Quality of English-language videos on YouTube as a source of information on systemic lupus erythematosus. Int J Rheum Dis. 23:1636-1644. https://doi.org/10.1111/1756-185x.13852
Devgire V, Martin AF, McKenzie L, Sandler RD, Hughes M. (2020) A systematic review of internet-based information for individuals with Raynaud’s phenomenon and patients with systemic sclerosis. Clin Rheumatol. 39:2363-2367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-020-05023-5
Cüzdan N, Türk İ. (2022) Evaluation of quality and reliability of musculoskeletal ultrasound videos on YouTube. Mod Rheumatol. 32:999-1005. https://doi.org/10.1093/mr/roab062
Bernard A, Langille M, Hughes S, Rose C, Leddin D, Veldhuyzen van Zanten S. (2007) A systematic review of patient inflammatory bowel disease information resources on the World Wide Web. Am J Gastroenterol. 102:2070-2077. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1572-0241.2007.01325.x
Charnock D, Shepperd S, Needham G, Gann R. (1999) DISCERN: an instrument for judging the quality of written consumer health information on treatment choices. J Epidemiol Community Health. 53:105-111. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.53.2.105
Erdem MN, Karaca S. (2018) Evaluating the Accuracy and Quality of the Information in Kyphosis Videos Shared on YouTube. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 43:E1334-e1339. https://doi.org/10.1097/brs.0000000000002691
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Fatih Albayrak, Burak Öz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The content of this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
