Public interest in online information on recurrent urinary tract infections is greatest for information with the poorest publication quality

Thaker, S., Chan, J. Y. H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7952-9123, Thaker, K. N. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8451-1240, Takele, R. A., Newlands, A. F. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4718-0075, Maxwell, K., Bhanji, Y., Kramer, M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9242-5203 and Scotland, K. B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0749-3859 (2024) Public interest in online information on recurrent urinary tract infections is greatest for information with the poorest publication quality. Pathogens, 13 (12). 1125. ISSN 2076-0817 doi: 10.3390/pathogens13121125

Abstract/Summary

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most prevalent bacterial infections. With many patients turning to the Internet as a health resource, this study seeks to understand public engagement with online resources concerning recurrent UTIs (rUTIs), assess their reliability, and identify common questions/concerns about rUTIs. Methods: Social media analysis tool BuzzSumo was used to calculate online engagement (likes, shares, comments, views) with information on rUTIs. The reliability of highly engaged articles was evaluated using the DISCERN questionnaire. Highly engaged categories were entered as keywords in Google Trends to quantify search interest. To categorize patient-specific concerns, a database containing anonymously collected patient questions about rUTIs was created. Results: BuzzSumo revealed four search categories: general information, treatment, causes, and herbal remedies. DISCERN scores indicated moderate reliability overall; however, the “herbal remedies” category demonstrated poor reliability despite high engagement. Google Trends analysis highlighted “causes” and “treatment” searches as highest in relative interest. The 10 most popular categories of concern were antibiotics, microbiome, vaccines, prevention, pelvic pain, sex, testing, symptoms, diet/lifestyle, and hormones. Conclusions: People living with rUTIs demonstrate key concerns and often seek information online, yet articles with high engagement often contain unreliable information. Healthcare professionals may consider counteracting misinformation by providing evidence-based information online about rUTIs.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/120032
Identification Number/DOI	10.3390/pathogens13121125
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology
Publisher	MDPI
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