Etta Rhoda E, Babatunde Abdulhammed O, Okunlola Praise O, Akanbi Oluwatomisin K, Adegoroye Kehinde J, Adepoju Rofiat A, Tundealao Samuel T
Medicine and Surgery, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, NGA.
Dentistry, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, NGA.
Cureus. 2024 Dec 9;16(12):e75419. doi: 10.7759/cureus.75419. eCollection 2024 Dec.
Background Various studies have evaluated the quality of health-related information on TikTok (ByteDance Ltd., Beijing, China), including topics such as COVID-19, diabetes, varicoceles, bladder cancer, colorectal cancer, and others. However, there is a paucity of data on studies that examined TikTok as a source of quality health information on human papillomavirus (HPV). This study, therefore, evaluated the quality of health information on HPV on TikTok. Methods The terms "HPV" and "human papillomavirus" were searched on TikTok on a single day in August 2024, and 200 videos were retrieved. Relevant user metrics were collected for each video, including the number of likes, shares, and followers, the video length, and the uploader type. Two independent raters assessed each video regarding the completeness of six types of content (the definition of HPV, symptoms, risk factors, evaluation, management, and outcomes). Then, the two raters independently assessed the quality of information in the videos using the DISCERN instrument. Results Sixty-nine videos met inclusion criteria; 11 were created by general users, 44 by healthcare professionals, and 14 by organizations. Videos uploaded by general users and health professionals have a longer duration (p < 0.001) and more likes (p = 0.048) than those uploaded by organizations. More than 60% of the videos contained little or no content on the HPV content assessed. Although the reliability and quality of treatment choices were higher among videos uploaded by healthcare professionals, the overall quality of HPV health information using the DISCERN instrument was "very poor" (24.2 (±6.92)). Conclusions The overall quality of HPV videos uploaded on TikTok is very poor and not acceptable, thus failing to satisfy public health needs. Healthcare professionals must enhance their social media presence, produce reliable and substantive material, and collaborate with social media platforms and high-engagement accounts to facilitate users' access to high-quality data. TikTok users must recognize that material regarding HPV may lack medical accuracy and should consistently consult healthcare providers for medical guidance.
背景 多项研究评估了TikTok（中国北京字节跳动有限公司）上与健康相关信息的质量，包括新冠病毒、糖尿病、精索静脉曲张、膀胱癌、结直肠癌等主题。然而，关于将TikTok作为人类乳头瘤病毒（HPV）优质健康信息来源的研究数据匮乏。因此，本研究评估了TikTok上HPV健康信息的质量。方法 于2024年8月的某一天在TikTok上搜索“HPV”和“人类乳头瘤病毒”，检索到200个视频。收集每个视频的相关用户指标，包括点赞数、分享数、关注者数、视频时长和上传者类型。两名独立评分者评估每个视频六种内容类型（HPV的定义、症状、风险因素、评估、管理和结果）的完整性。然后，两名评分者使用DISCERN工具独立评估视频中的信息质量。结果 69个视频符合纳入标准；11个由普通用户创建，44个由医疗保健专业人员创建，14个由组织创建。普通用户和健康专业人员上传的视频比组织上传的视频持续时间更长（p < 0.001）且点赞数更多（p = 0.048）。超过60%的视频在所评估的HPV内容上几乎没有或没有内容。尽管医疗保健专业人员上传的视频中治疗选择的可靠性和质量更高，但使用DISCERN工具评估的HPV健康信息的整体质量为“非常差”（24.2（±6.92））。结论 TikTok上上传的HPV视频的整体质量非常差且不可接受，因此无法满足公共卫生需求。医疗保健专业人员必须加强其在社交媒体上的影响力，制作可靠且有实质内容的材料，并与社交媒体平台和高参与度账户合作，以方便用户获取高质量数据。TikTok用户必须认识到关于HPV的材料可能缺乏医学准确性，应始终咨询医疗保健提供者以获取医疗指导。
