Assessing the Quality of Vision Therapy Content on TikTok for Pediatric Visual and Learning Disorders

Purpose: To analyze the origin and quality of health information on one social media platform on the use of vision therapy in treating pediatric visual and learning disorders. Methods: Nine hashtags were selected, and the 20 most liked videos were independently assessed using the DISCERN and Global Quality Scoring (GQS) systems, totaling 147 videos with 11,194,000 views. Across all hashtags, vision therapy content was predominantly created by behavioral optometrists (32.2%) and vision therapy clinics (21.2%). Results: This content scored poorly on both the DISCERN and GQS scoring systems, demonstrating widespread misinformation. With the increasing influence of social media on health care decisions, misinformation may lead to misguided treatment choices, potentially delaying evidence-based care. These findings underscore the need for increased engagement from ophthalmologists and other medical professionals to provide accurate, research-backed information and counter the spread of misleading claims of vision therapy in treating pediatric and visual learning disorders. Conclusions: Future research should explore content across multiple platforms and broaden the scope of analysis to enhance the understanding of online health misinformation.