Assessment of the quality and reliability of Douyin and Bilibili as information sources for transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion

Background Short-video platforms are an important source of health education for patients. However, the quality of transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF)-related content on major short-video platforms in China remains unclear. This study compared the information quality of TLIF-related videos on Douyin and Bilibili and explored associations between video characteristics, quality, and audience engagement. Methods Videos were retrieved from both platforms on the same day using Chinese-language search terms corresponding to ‘TLIF surgery’ and ‘transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion.’ After screening the top 150 videos on each platform, 106 videos were included (68 from Douyin and 38 from Bilibili). Two independent evaluators assessed video quality using the modified DISCERN (mDISCERN), Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks, and Global Quality Scale (GQS). Group differences and correlations were analyzed using nonparametric tests and Spearman rank correlation analysis. Results After Bonferroni correction, Douyin videos had higher mDISCERN and JAMA scores than Bilibili videos, with no significant difference in GQS scores. Animated videos and those posted by spine surgeons from tertiary hospitals received higher scores on some quality measures. In the Bilibili subsample, mDISCERN scores showed exploratory negative correlations with view counts (r s = −0.415, P = 0.010) and total engagement (r s = −0.363, P = 0.025) in unadjusted analyses. These findings should be interpreted cautiously. Conclusions TLIF-related videos on Douyin showed higher information quality than those on Bilibili in several dimensions, although their overall visual quality was comparable. The negative association between video reliability and view counts on Bilibili suggests a potential mismatch between information quality and popularity.