Zhou Xuchuan, Ma Gejia, Su Xuefeng, Li Xinyi, Wang Wenfei, Xia Linxi, Yang Chen, Liu Bin
Department of Burn, Plastic and Cosmetic Surgery, Xi'an Central Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
School of Medicine, Yan'an University, Yan'an, China.
Front Public Health. 2025 Jan 3;12:1472583. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1472583. eCollection 2024.
The prevalence of lymphedema is rising, necessitating accurate diagnostic and treatment information for affected patients. Short video-sharing platforms facilitate access to such information but require validation regarding the reliability and quality of the content presented. This study aimed to assess the reliability and quality of lymphedema-related information on Chinese short video-sharing platforms.
We collected 111 video samples addressing the diagnosis and treatment of lymphedema from four platforms: TikTok, Bilibili, WeChat, and Microblog. Two independent surgeons evaluated each video for content comprehensiveness, quality (using the Global Quality Score), and reliability (using the modified DISCERN tool). The videos from different sources were subsequently compared and analyzed.
Out of 111 videos analyzed, 66 (59.46%) were uploaded by medical professionals, including breast surgeons, vascular surgeons, plastic surgeons, physical therapists, and gynecologists, while 45 (40.54%) were shared by non-medical professionals such as science bloggers, medical institutions, and lymphedema patients. Patient-uploaded videos received the highest engagement, with median likes of 2,257 (IQR: 246.25-10998.25) and favorites of 399 (IQR: 94.5-1794.75). 13 videos (11.71%) contained inaccuracies. Medical professionals' videos generally showed higher content comprehensiveness, particularly those by plastic surgeons, compared to non-medical professionals. The GQS and modified DISCERN tool were used to assess video quality and reliability respectively, with medical professionals scoring higher on both metrics ( = 3.127, = 0.002; = 2.010, = 0.044). The quality and reliability of recommendations provided by plastic surgeons surpassed that of other medical professionals ( = 16.196, = 0.003; = 9.700, = 0.046). No significant differences in video quality and reliability were found among the three categories of non-medical professionals ( = 3.491, = 0.175; = 2.098, = 0.350).
Our study shows that lymphedema-related videos on short video platforms vary widely in quality. Videos by medical professionals are generally more accurate and of higher quality than those by non-professionals. However, patient-uploaded videos often get more engagement due to their relatability. To ensure public access to reliable information, establishing basic standards for this content is essential.
淋巴水肿的患病率正在上升，这使得为受影响的患者提供准确的诊断和治疗信息变得必要。短视频分享平台便于获取此类信息，但需要对所呈现内容的可靠性和质量进行验证。本研究旨在评估中国短视频分享平台上与淋巴水肿相关信息的可靠性和质量。
我们从四个平台收集了111个关于淋巴水肿诊断和治疗的视频样本：抖音、哔哩哔哩、微信和微博。两名独立的外科医生对每个视频的内容全面性、质量（使用全球质量评分）和可靠性（使用改良的DISCERN工具）进行评估。随后对来自不同来源的视频进行比较和分析。
在分析的111个视频中，66个（59.46%）由医学专业人员上传，包括乳腺外科医生、血管外科医生、整形外科医生、物理治疗师和妇科医生，而45个（40.54%）由非医学专业人员分享，如科学博主、医疗机构和淋巴水肿患者。患者上传的视频获得的参与度最高，点赞中位数为2257（四分位距：246.25 - 10998.25），收藏中位数为399（四分位距：94.5 - 1794.75）。13个视频（11.71%）包含不准确信息。与非医学专业人员相比，医学专业人员的视频通常内容更全面，尤其是整形外科医生的视频。分别使用全球质量评分和改良的DISCERN工具评估视频质量和可靠性，医学专业人员在这两个指标上得分更高（= 3.127，= 0.002；= 2.010，= 0.044）。整形外科医生提供的建议质量和可靠性超过其他医学专业人员（= 16.196，= 0.003；= 9.700，= 0.046）。三类非医学专业人员的视频在质量和可靠性方面未发现显著差异（= 3.491，= 0.175；= 2.098，= 0.350）。
我们的研究表明，短视频平台上与淋巴水肿相关的视频质量差异很大。医学专业人员的视频通常比非专业人员的视频更准确、质量更高。然而，患者上传的视频由于其相关性往往获得更多参与度。为确保公众能够获取可靠信息，为此类内容制定基本标准至关重要。
