Background: Osteoporosis is an escalating global health concern, necessitating focus on enhancing public health promotion in areas of awareness, early prevention, and treatment engagement. TikTok, a popular short-form video social media platform, has the potential to widely disseminate medical information. This study evaluates the type and quality of information on osteoporosis management currently available on TikTok and examines potential factors associated with popular content.
Methods: “Osteoporosis Treatment” was searched on 9th of June 2024 using a new TikTok account. The top 100 results were screened for inclusion. Two independent reviewers assessed the video content, rating the degree of guideline consistency compared with the 2024 RACGP & Healthy Bones Australia Osteoporosis Guidelines. The DISCERN criteria was used to appraise information quality. Quality scores and various video features were analysed for correlation with higher viewer engagement.
Results: Seventy-one videos were included. The majority were produced by non-healthcare professionals (n=38, 53.5%) and attracted the most views, up to 22.4 million (97.3% of total views). Bone health and fracture prevention were the most discussed topics (n=51, 71.8%), followed by non-guideline supported alternative therapies (n=44, 62.0%). Thirty-one videos (43.7%) offered guideline-consistent advice, 20 videos (28.2%) offered some but not all guideline-consistent advice, and 20 videos (28.2%) did not offer any guideline-supported advice. Low DISCERN scores were observed across all videos (mean overall score 2.0/5) and scores were significantly lower in non-HCP produced videos compared to content by HCPs (mean DISCERN score of 1.5 vs. 2.7, p<0.00001). However, higher DISCERN scores were associated with lower view counts (p=0.003). Videos presenting to an audience, containing music, and of longer duration had greater viewer engagement (p<0.05).
Conclusion: TikTok contains overall poor-quality information on osteoporosis management. There is an opportunity for HCPs and health organisations to contribute more high-quality videos to utilise TikTok as a source of reliable, guideline-supported osteoporosis information.