Mpox (monkeypox) information on TikTok: analysis of quality and audience engagement
Background Online information on mpox (monkeypox) is not well studied. We have analysed the video content, information quality, and audience engagement of mpox-related videos on TikTok.Methods Using a hashtag-based searching strategy, we identified 2462 mpox-related videos on TikTok from 1 January t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2023-03-01
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| Series: | BMJ Global Health |
| Online Access: | https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/3/e011138.full |
| _version_ | 1797870232967053312 |
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| author | Qi Liu Peng Cai Pengyang Li Ao Shi Joe El Haddad Shijie Song Yuan Jia Wang |
| author_facet | Qi Liu Peng Cai Pengyang Li Ao Shi Joe El Haddad Shijie Song Yuan Jia Wang |
| author_sort | Qi Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background Online information on mpox (monkeypox) is not well studied. We have analysed the video content, information quality, and audience engagement of mpox-related videos on TikTok.Methods Using a hashtag-based searching strategy, we identified 2462 mpox-related videos on TikTok from 1 January to 11 August 2022; 85 were included after exclusion criteria screening. Videos were evaluated for content on features and treatment of mpox. Video and information quality was assessed using the DISCERN instrument and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) criteria. We recorded video source, evaluation scores, and viewer engagement metrics. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used for statistical analysis and multiple linear regression for factor-association studies.Results Of the 85 videos, two assessed all content topics and highlighted 33% of all content items in clinical guidelines. The overall average score for the videos was 39.56 of 80 on the DISCERN instrument and 1.93 of 4 on the JAMA criteria. No video met all JAMA criteria. Subgroup analysis based on author identity suggested the variance in video scores by source (p<0.05 for all). Overall scores were higher for videos produced by doctors and science communicators than for those made by institutional users, nurses, and the general public. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that having people in the video (69.20, p=0.0001) and including information on treatment choices (1.15, p=0.045) were significant, independent determinants of audience engagement.Conclusion Public-directed TikTok videos on mpox frequently provide incomplete, inaccurate information, highlighting the potential risks of using TikTok as a health information source. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T00:25:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4b76b641c2604d7c8ad8ee47bfcb323d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2059-7908 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T00:25:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Global Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-4b76b641c2604d7c8ad8ee47bfcb323d2023-03-15T10:30:07ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Global Health2059-79082023-03-018310.1136/bmjgh-2022-011138Mpox (monkeypox) information on TikTok: analysis of quality and audience engagementQi Liu0Peng Cai1Pengyang Li2Ao Shi3Joe El Haddad4Shijie Song5Yuan Jia Wang66 Wafic Said Molecular Cardiology Research Laboratory, Texas Heart Institute, Houston, Texas, USA3 Department of Mathematical Sciences, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA7 Division of Cardiology, Pauley Heart Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA1 Faculty of Medicine, St George’s University of London, London, UK1 Faculty of Medicine, St George’s University of London, London, UK4 Business School, Hohai University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China5 Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USABackground Online information on mpox (monkeypox) is not well studied. We have analysed the video content, information quality, and audience engagement of mpox-related videos on TikTok.Methods Using a hashtag-based searching strategy, we identified 2462 mpox-related videos on TikTok from 1 January to 11 August 2022; 85 were included after exclusion criteria screening. Videos were evaluated for content on features and treatment of mpox. Video and information quality was assessed using the DISCERN instrument and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) criteria. We recorded video source, evaluation scores, and viewer engagement metrics. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used for statistical analysis and multiple linear regression for factor-association studies.Results Of the 85 videos, two assessed all content topics and highlighted 33% of all content items in clinical guidelines. The overall average score for the videos was 39.56 of 80 on the DISCERN instrument and 1.93 of 4 on the JAMA criteria. No video met all JAMA criteria. Subgroup analysis based on author identity suggested the variance in video scores by source (p<0.05 for all). Overall scores were higher for videos produced by doctors and science communicators than for those made by institutional users, nurses, and the general public. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that having people in the video (69.20, p=0.0001) and including information on treatment choices (1.15, p=0.045) were significant, independent determinants of audience engagement.Conclusion Public-directed TikTok videos on mpox frequently provide incomplete, inaccurate information, highlighting the potential risks of using TikTok as a health information source.https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/3/e011138.full |
| spellingShingle | Qi Liu Peng Cai Pengyang Li Ao Shi Joe El Haddad Shijie Song Yuan Jia Wang Mpox (monkeypox) information on TikTok: analysis of quality and audience engagement BMJ Global Health |
| title | Mpox (monkeypox) information on TikTok: analysis of quality and audience engagement |
| title_full | Mpox (monkeypox) information on TikTok: analysis of quality and audience engagement |
| title_fullStr | Mpox (monkeypox) information on TikTok: analysis of quality and audience engagement |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mpox (monkeypox) information on TikTok: analysis of quality and audience engagement |
| title_short | Mpox (monkeypox) information on TikTok: analysis of quality and audience engagement |
| title_sort | mpox monkeypox information on tiktok analysis of quality and audience engagement |
| url | https://gh.bmj.com/content/8/3/e011138.full |
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