Patient Information for Stroke on Instagram: A Content Quality and Audience Engagement Analysis
Roghan Balaji Rajakumar Nagalatha1, Reveda Murugan2, Roha Tahir3, Harikrishna Choudary Ponnam4, Ragini Gopagoni5, Laxmi Prasana Sakamuri4, Firdous Usman6, Meisya Rosamystica7, Faisal Nawaz8, Vikas Bansal9, Rahul Kashyap9
1Global Remote Research Scholars Program, Princeton Junction, NJ, USA, 2Dr Rajesh Neuro Foundation, India, 3Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Medical and Dental College, Pakistan, 4Summa Health System, OH, USA, 5Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA, 6American Hospital Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 7David Tvildiani Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia, 8Al Amal Psychiatric Hospital, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 9Department of Research, WellSpan Health, York, PA, USA
Objective:
To analyze quality and engagement of stroke-related Instagram videos.
Background:
Social media platforms like Instagram have become a major source of health information, but the accuracy and usefulness of stroke-related posts on it remain uncertain. Visually appealing but low-quality content can misinform patients and caregivers.
This study analyzed the quality and engagement of stroke-related Instagram posts and identified factors associated with higher-quality content.
Design/Methods:
Cross-sectional content analysis of Instagram videos using the hashtag “#stroke”, collected between May 25-26, 2025 from the platform's “For You” feed. A new account was created to reduce algorithm bias. English posts with stroke-related information were included, while duplicates, non-English, or posts without audio/captions were excluded. Sequential sampling yielded 100 videos. Metadata extracted included creator type, followers, duration, and engagement metrics. Four physician raters independently evaluated content quality using DISCERN and PEMAT-A/V tool, with consensus adjudication.
Results:
Among 100 videos, 57 were from healthcare professionals (HCPs) and 43 from non-HCPs. Non-HCP posts were shorter (median 14 seconds vs 37; p = 0.0017) and had higher views (median 872,000 vs 98,400; p = 0.0015), likes and comments. HCP posts demonstrated greater engagement rate (median 3.1% vs 0.9%; p < 0.0001), higher DISCERN (median 26 vs 15; p < 0.0001), PEMAT understandability (median 4 vs 3; p = 0.022), and actionability (p = 0.0018) score. HCPs focused on education and treatment, while non-HCPs emphasized patient stories and product promotion (p < 0.0001). DISCERN correlated with HCP status (ρ = 0.67; p < 0.0001) and longer video duration (ρ = 0.56; p < 0.0001).
Conclusions:
Higher-quality stroke information on Instagram is primarily produced by healthcare professionals (HCP) and appears in longer videos. However, lower-quality (non HCP) content often achieves greater reach, revealing a disconnect between popularity and reliability. Strengthening the visibility of evidence-based content is essential to improve public awareness and patient safety.
Disclaimer: Abstracts were not reviewed by Neurology® and do not reflect the views of Neurology® editors or staff.