Background Liver cancer incidence has been increasing in China in the recent years, leading to increased public concern regarding the burden of this disease. Short videos on liver cancer are disseminated through TikTok and Bilibili apps, which have gained popularity in recent years as an easily accessible source of health information. However, the credibility, quality, and usefulness of the information in these short videos and the professional knowledge of the individuals uploading health information–based videos in these platforms have not yet been evaluated. Objective Our study aims to assess the quality of the information in Chinese short videos on liver cancer shared on the TikTok and Bilibili short video–sharing platforms. Methods In March 2023, we assessed the top 100 Chinese short videos on liver cancer in TikTok and Bilibili (200 videos in total) for their information quality and reliability by using 2 rating tools, namely, global quality score (GQS) and the DISCERN instrument. Correlation and Poisson regression analyses were applied to discuss the factors that could impact video quality. Results Compared to Bilibili, TikTok is more popular, although the length of the videos on TikTok is shorter than that of the videos on Bilibili (P<.001). The quality of the short videos on liver cancer in TikTok and Bilibili was not satisfactory, with median GQS of 3 (IQR 2-4) and 2 (IQR 1-5) and median DISCERN scores of 5 (IQR 4-6) and 4 (IQR 2-7), respectively. In general, the quality of videos sourced from professional institutions and individuals was better than that of those sourced from nonprofessionals, and videos involving disease-related knowledge were of better quality than those covering news and reports. No significant differences were found in the quality of videos uploaded by individuals from different professions, with the exception of those uploaded by traditional Chinese medicine professionals, which demonstrated poorer quality. Only video shares were positively correlated with the GQS (r=0.17, P=.01), and no video variables could predict the video quality. Conclusions Our study shows that the quality of short videos on health information related to liver cancer is poor on Bilibili and TikTok, but videos uploaded by health care professionals can be considered reliable in terms of comprehensiveness and content quality. Thus, short videos providing medical information on TikTok and Bilibili must be carefully considered for scientific soundness by active information seekers before they make decisions on their health care management.
BACKGROUND China is a large country with hepatitis B. The incidence of liver cancer is increasing and people are becoming more and more concerned about liver cancer. Short video as a convenient source of acquiring health information is gaining more and more popularity, but the quality of short videos is not well evaluated. OBJECTIVE Our study aimed to assess the quality of information in videos associated with liver cancer on Chinese short video sharing platforms (TikTok and Bilibili ). METHODS In March 2023, we retrieved and screened the top 100 videos both on TikTok and Bilibili respectively and extracted the basic information of the videos. Later,we divided the videos into 2 groups according to different sources and different content, each with subgroups, and applied two rating tools, Global Quality Score (GQS) and DISCERN, to evaluate the quality and reliability of the videos. And then we further performed correlation analysis. RESULTS According to 166 videos, doctors uploaded most videos, accounting for 53.9%(89/166) and news and reports contributed the most(42.8%,71/166). Individuals tend to have longer videos compared with news agencies and doctors (p<.0001and p<.001, respectively). The median GQS and DISCERN scores of all 166 videos were 2.5(1,4) and 4(1,6), which indicated most videos had poor quality with only 28% (47/166) of the videos considered excellent and good, and also only 29% (48/166) of the videos considered reliable or relatively reliable. The total GQS scores of doctors were significantly higher than that of individuals(p<.001), disease knowledge higher than treatment and news and reports (p=0.04 and p<.0001, respectively) and prevention higher than news and reports(p<.001). DISCERN score for doctors as well as news agencies were significantly higher than individuals (p<.0001 and p=.03, respectively), prevention higher than treatment and news and reports (p=.03 and p<.0001, respectively), so as to videos of disease knowledge (p=.03 and p<.0001, respectively). No significant differences were found between groups based on different type of doctors. Negative correlation was observed between video durations and likes (r=-.194, p=.012) Only shares had positive correlation with GQS and DISCERN scores(r=0.22, p<.01 and r=0.203, p<.01, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Short videos can be considered a poor quality source of health information related to liver cancer, most of which are posted by doctors. People's preference for videos is negatively correlated with the duration of the video, with people preferring videos that are practical and entertaining. People need to be careful when choosing videos to obtain medical content.
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