Journal article
Examining Scleritis Content on the Social Media App 'TikTok': A Comprehensive Analysis of Quality, Engagement, and Misinformation
Ocular immunology and inflammation, v 33(10), pp 2537-2540
11 Oct 2025
PMID: 41074691
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
PurposeTikTok has emerged as one of the most popular video-based social media platforms with over 1 billion active users. It has also become a popular source for medical information, posing safety concerns about potentially misleading or inaccurate content. This study explored scleritis-related content on TikTok to evaluate content quality, engagement metrics, and misinformation.MethodsUsing TikTok's search function, videos tagged with 'scleritis,' 'anterior scleritis,' and 'posterior scleritis' were analyzed. Videos were categorized by creator type, engagement (views, likes, comments, shares), and content type (informative, misinformation, personal experience, diagnosis, miscellaneous). The Patient Education Materials and Assessment Tool - Audiovisual (PEMAT-AV) assessed understandability and actionability, focusing on word choice, organization, visual aids, and actionable advice.ResultsA total of 69 videos were analyzed; most were created by patients (88.4%, n = 61). Average engagement per video was 29 001 views, 403 likes, 24 comments, and 6 shares. While 84.1% (n=58) were informative, 10.1% (n = 7) contained misinformation. The mean PEMAT understandability score was 37.0%, and actionability was 6.0%, indicating poor educational quality.ConclusionMost scleritis-related TikToks are from non-medical professionals with 10.1% containing misinformation. Content demonstrated low understandability and actionability. Physician-created videos are needed to improve scleritis-related medical information on TikTok and ensure more accurate, accessible, and actionable content for users seeking reliable health information.
Metrics
1 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Examining Scleritis Content on the Social Media App 'TikTok': A Comprehensive Analysis of Quality, Engagement, and Misinformation
- Creators
- Sara A. Khan - Drexel UniversityRayna Marshall - Drexel UniversityWendy See - College Station Medical CenterIsrael Mendez-Bermudez - Johns Hopkins UniversityMeghan Berkenstock (Corresponding Author) - Johns Hopkins University
- Publication Details
- Ocular immunology and inflammation, v 33(10), pp 2537-2540
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Number of pages
- 4
- Grant note
- Dracopoulos Uveitis Research Fund Hankins Uveitis Research Fund
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- College of Medicine
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001591126100001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105018832745
- Other Identifier
- 991022197404504721
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: SDGs in the Output
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Ophthalmology