Tiktok as a Source of Education and Misinformation in Lichen Sclerosus.


Journal

Journal of lower genital tract disease
ISSN: 1526-0976
Titre abrégé: J Low Genit Tract Dis
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 9704963

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
28 Oct 2024
Historique:
medline: 28 10 2024
pubmed: 28 10 2024
entrez: 28 10 2024
Statut: aheadofprint

Résumé

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the content, delivery, and quality of medical information for vulvar lichen sclerosus on the social media platform TikTok. This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study. Using the third-party data scraping tool Apify, TikTok videos tagged with #lichensclerosus or "lichen sclerosus" were identified and sorted by view count. A sample of 100 videos was reviewed by 2 independent reviewers, excluding those not discussing lichen sclerosus. Videos were assessed using a coding document, the Patient Educational Materials Assessment Tool, and the DISCERN instrument. Interrater reliability was measured, and statistical analyses included Fleiss' kappa, intraclass correlation coefficient, t tests, and Wilcoxon rank sum test with Holm-Bonferroni correction. Content creators included patients (46%), health care professionals (30%), and others. Topics focused on clinical disease (52%) and treatment (48%). Evidence-based medicine was discussed in 71.7% of treatment-related videos, while 51.7% included nonevidence-based approaches, with a neutral or positive sentiment. Videos discussing topical steroids often had negative sentiments. Quality assessment revealed 61% of videos were understandable, 27% actionable, and 46% contained misinformation. Videos by health care professionals had less misinformation and higher quality scores compared to patient-generated content. Commercially biased videos were more understandable but contained more misinformation. TikTok serves as a significant platform for sharing information on lichen sclerosus, but nearly half of the content contains misinformation. Health care professionals need to engage in social media to provide accurate information and counteract misinformation. Enhanced collaboration with patient advocates and careful resource sharing can improve the quality and reliability of medical information available online.

Identifiants

pubmed: 39466157
doi: 10.1097/LGT.0000000000000846
pii: 00128360-990000000-00143
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

IM

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2024, ASCCP.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The authors have declared they have no conflicts of interest.

Références

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Auteurs

Jennifer Foster (J)

Department of Dermatology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.

Priya Sarlashkar (P)

Department of Dermatology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.

Olivia Abraham (O)

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.

Olivia Negris (O)

Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN.

Jaclyn Lanthier (J)

Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Jill Krapf (J)

Rush Medical College, Chicago, IL.

Classifications MeSH