TikTok videos on oral contraceptive health have low quality, reliability

Key takeaways:

• TikToks on oral contraceptive health had low quality and low reliability scores.
• The most common topic discussed in TikToks about oral contraceptive health was adverse effects.

SAN FRANCISCO — TikToks about oral contraceptive health had low quality and reliability of information. Most videos were made by non-health care providers, and adverse effects of contraception was the most common topic, data show.

“In recent years, there’s been a concerning decline in accessibility of reliable sex education in U.S. schools. This declining trend has led to many adolescent and young adult patients to seek health information elsewhere, especially using social media as a popular source,” Mayra C. Repetto, BS, a fourth year medical student at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said during the presentation at the ACOG Annual Clinical & Scientific Meeting. “As a popular source of use of social media platforms, TikTok has emerged as a prominent channel of disseminating health information. However, there is a potential for misinformation to be spread unchecked, which will pose concerns over the quality and reliability of this health information on these platforms.”

Repetto and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study of 574 TikToks listed under various search terms that were related to oral contraceptives. Researchers evaluated views, likes, comments, saves and shares from each TikTok and recorded the content of the video including contraceptive methods discussed, efficacy, tolerability and adverse effects. Two reviewers independently assessed the quality of reliability of the information presented in each TikTok using modified DISCERN criteria and Global Quality Scale (GQS), with higher scores indicating higher reliability and better quality.

Overall, TikToks had a median length of 27 seconds and received a median of 166 daily views. Most TikTok creators were female (83.3%) and white (58.7%). Almost half (49.8%) of TikToks about oral contraceptive health discussed adverse effects of contraception compared with 27.5% that discussed positive effects of contraception.

The mean modified DISCERN criteria score was 1.6361.062 and the mean GQS score was 2.2861.374, indicating low quality and low reliability of the information discussed. TikToks made by heath care professionals had significantly higher modified DISCERN and GQS scores compared with non-health care professionals, but these videos received fewer views and likes (P = .001).

According to Repetto, these findings highlight the need for guidance from providers to find reliable sources, to teach patients how to discern accurate information and to continue to facilitate joint decision making when choosing oral contraceptive methods.

“While the study only focused on oral contraceptives, further research is needed on other modes of contraceptives, as well as other reproductive health topics overall to follow online discourse trends,” Repetto said. “We also suggest that further research be explored for the potential of promoting regular health care provider visits, which can increase opportunities for patients to have face-to-face interactions with their providers and get reliable health information that is tailored to their needs.”