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Misdiagnosed on Demand: Unpacking the Unreliable Landscape of Lumbar Pain Information on Spanish YouTube

Abstract:

YouTube reshapes the doctor-patient interactions regarding lumbar pain by designing informational options that are not always secure and of high quality. This study examined the reliability of Spanish-language information on lower back pain available on YouTube. A total of 70 videos were analyzed through an independent viewing process conducted by a team of trained coders. This team comprised two medical specialists in lumbar pain who assessed video reliability using the DISCERN scale and two experts in communication and discourse studies who evaluated communication variables related to the channel and the video. The data were analyzed using Spearman’s rho for correlation calculation and the Kruskal-Wallis test to establish contrasts between the video’s communicative features and its reliability. The findings indicate that only 2.9% of videos demonstrated acceptable reliability. Notable deficiencies included the absence of citations from academically recognized sources in the video, a lack of informational balance and impartiality, and the omission of diverse sources for patients to cross-reference the information provided. Information about lumbar pain on YouTube is predominantly deficient, regardless of content type or YouTuber profile. This study underscores that popularity does not equate to reliability, emphasizing the need for media and health literacy interventions to mitigate the risk of misinformation.