JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Social media holds an increasingly significant position in contemporary society, wherein the evolving public perspectives are mirrored by transitional information. However, there remains a lack of comprehensive analysis regarding the nature and evolution of dental healthcare information on Chinese social media platforms despite the extensive user engagement and voluminous content.

Objective:

This study aims to probe into the nature and evolution of dental healthcare and orthodontic information on Chinese social media platforms between 2018 and 2022. By examining keyword prevalence, user engagement, and information quality, patterns and associations were identified that could yield valuable insights for dental practitioners, investigators, and educators.

Methods:

Targeting three major platforms including Weibo, WeChat, and Zhihu, posts from March 2018, 2020, and 2022 were collected to construct an original social media database (ODB), from which the most popular articles (N=180) were selected to create a database for further analysis (ADB). Natural Language Processing tools were used to assist tracking topic trends and word clouds were generated. The DISCERN health information quality assessment questionnaire was employed for information quality evaluation.

Results:

The quantity of Weibo posts in ODB has increased approximately fourfold during the observation period, with discussion of orthodontic topics showing the fastest growth, surpassing general dentistry after 2020. In ADB, the engagement of content on Weibo and Zhihu also displayed an upward trend. The overall information quality of articles on three platforms was moderate or low. 79.44% (n=143) of the articles were written by non-professionals, and 58.33% (n=105) shared personal medical experiences. On Weibo and WeChat, articles authored by healthcare professionals had higher DISCERN scores (Weibo P=.04; WeChat P=.02), but there was a negative correlation between engagement and DISCERN scores (Weibo tau-b=-.45, P=.01; WeChat tau-b=-.30, P=.02).

Conclusions:

There has been a significant increase in the dissemination and engagement of dental healthcare information on Chinese social media platforms during 2018-2022. The public interest has evolved with a burst of keywords related to functional dentofacial aesthetics and preventative care in the word clouds. Articles with the highest engagement tend to have moderate or low information quality, with non-professional narratives and personal medical experiences garnering more attraction than informative content from healthcare professionals.