Labor Pain Management Content on TikTok Misses Quality Mark

TOPLINE:

Analysis of TikTok videos on neuraxial labor analgesia found them to be of poor overall quality, with 10% of the videos containing inaccurate information. Videos from medical sources demonstrate higher quality scores but still fall below professional standards, researchers found.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a cross-sectional analysis to evaluate the accuracy and quality of TikTok videos on neuraxial labor analgesia.
• Overall, 266 videos from June 17 to 20, 2024, which were recorded in English and could be identified through TikTok’s “Top” search function using keywords such as “epidural,” “epidural for labor,” “epidural for pregnancy,” “epidural experience,” “getting an epidural,” and “epidural risks,” were included in the study.
• The researchers assessed the videos for content related to neuraxial technique, timing of administration, benefits, risks, and side effects of the intervention.
• The primary outcomes focused on video accuracy and overall quality.
• Inaccuracy was assessed by determining the percentage of videos that included false information on the specific content areas, whereas quality was assessed using the modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) score, a validated five-question tool, with scores ranging from 0 to 5 and higher scores indicating better quality.

TAKEAWAY:

• Among the analyzed videos, 26 (10%) contained inaccurate information, with medical sources accounting for 38% and nonmedical sources accounting for 62% of the inaccurate content.
• The overall quality of the analyzed videos was low; however, videos from medical sources showed better scores on mDISCERN (median, 2.0) than those from nonmedical sources (median, 0.0; P
• Videos from medical sources also demonstrated superior performance in clarity (88.5% vs 38.2%; P P P
• No videos from professional medical organizations were found in the analysis, highlighting a significant gap in authoritative content.

IN PRACTICE:

“TikTok is a popular platform for health information among pregnant people, but the quality of content related to neuraxial labor analgesia is generally poor. While the presence of inaccurate information is relatively low, the prevalence of unbalanced and biased videos poses a significant risk to patient understanding and informed decision-making,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE:

The study was led by B. M. Bak, Mayo Clinic Hospital, Rochester, Minnesota. It was published online on December 14, 2024, in the International Journal of Obstetric Anesthesia.

LIMITATIONS:

The cross-sectional design prevented the evaluation of changes in TikTok content quality and accuracy over time. The study was limited to videos in English language only. TikTok search results may have been influenced by user interaction, content information, and user information, potentially introducing selection bias.

DISCLOSURES:

This study did not receive any funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.