Previously submitted to: JMIR Cancer (no longer under consideration since May 14, 2026)
Date Submitted: Nov 5, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
A content analysis of the reliability and quality of TikTok videos as sources of information on cancer pain
ABSTRACT
Background:
TikTok, one of the most popular short-video platforms in China, has seen a growing number of users searching for health-related content.
Objective:
This study aims to investigate the quality of cancer pain-related video content on TikTok and evaluate its reliability for cancer pain education and dissemination.
Methods:
In September 2025, the keywords were used to conduct a search on TikTok. A quantitative analysis was performed using a structured content integrity assessment tool and the DISCERN video quality assessment tool to evaluate aspects such as content coverage and reliability. The correlation between video quality and video features was also explored.
Results:
An analysis of 202 videos revealed that 92.6% were produced by medical professionals. Of these, 94.1% received "average" or lower quality ratings. Scores for all aspects of content integrity were below 0.6 points, with the nursing dimension scoring the lowest. Correlation analysis indicated a significant relationship between DISCERN scores and video duration, as well as a notable positive correlation between the time since upload and repost frequency.
Conclusions:
The quality of videos on cancer pain-related health education videos on TikTok is generally low. Content creators should prioritize comprehensive and accurate information, while the platform must enhance its review mechanisms to deliver higher-quality and more reliable health information to the public. Clinical Trial: null
Citation
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Copyright
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