Previously submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research (no longer under consideration since Nov 12, 2023)
Date Submitted: Jan 10, 2023
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited.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.
TikTok-assisted care for psychological disorders in cancer patients: a mixed study
ABSTRACT
Background:
The incidence of psychological disorders in cancer patients is increasing every year, yet the vast majority of patients' psychological disorders are not being addressed promptly. With the widespread use of digital health in the clinic, this could be a cost and effective method of mental care for cancer.
Objective:
We aimed to investigate the effect of TikTok on the psychological state of cancer patients, i.e. the level of anxiety, depression and distress, and to explore the effectiveness of using TikTok applied to cancer mental care.
Methods:
455 participants with digestive system cancers were recruited to a mixed study comprising a cross-sectional study and a pre-post study to investigate the effects of using TikTok, one of the world's most popular short video apps, on psychological disorders including anxiety, depression and distress in cancer patients. 392 participants in a cross-sectional study, 63 non-TikTok using patients in a pre-post study of TikTok intervention. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to assess participants’ anxiety and depression, the Distress Thermometer scale to assess participants’ distress, and independent sample t-test and paired sample t-test to assess the effect of the TikTok intervention on participants' psychological state.
Results:
In the cross-sectional study, participants who usually used TikTok had lower psychological disorder scores than those who infrequently used TikTok, including anxiety (d=0.32[-0.44,1.08]), depression (d=0.73[0.04,1.41]), and distress (d=0.21[-0.32,0.73]). In the pre-post study, participants showed a significant reduction in the difference between anxiety and depression scores with the TikTok intervention (anxiety: d=0.94 [0.10,1.77], depression: d=1.16 [0.42,1.90]). There was no decrease in distress levels (d=-0.05 [-0.68,0.59]).
Conclusions:
Current research suggests that TikTok can be used as a safe, effective and convenient non-pharmacological method to assist healthcare professionals in the mental health care of cancer patients.
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