JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Tumor immunotherapy is an innovative treatment today, but there are limited data on the quality of immunotherapy information on social networks. Dissemination of misinformation through internet is a major social issue.

Objective:

Our objective was to characterize the quality of information and presence of misinformation about tumor immunotherapy on the internet videos commonly used by Chinese population.

Methods:

Using the keyword “tumor immunotherapy” in Chinese, we searched TikTok, Tencent, iQiyi and Bilibili on March 5, 2022. We reviewed the screened 118 videos using validated instruments: the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) for consumer health information. The DISCERN quality criteria and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) assessment for assessing the quality and reliability of the health information. The video content was also evaluated.

Results:

The median understandability and actionability of the internet videos were 71% and 71%, respectively. However, the quality of information was moderate to poor on the validated DISCERN and JAMA assessment. Only twelve videos had any misinformation (score >1 out of 5). Overall, over half of the internet videos had some or more information on the most part of content.

Conclusions:

In conclusion, although the quality of immunotherapy information on the internet videos commonly used by Chinese people is general, it possess less misinformation and better content. People should keep caution when using these internet videos as a source of immunotherapy-related information.