Quality and guideline concordance of neonatal jaundice information on short-video platforms: implications for parental education and newborn safety

Neonatal jaundice requires timely management to prevent neurological sequelae. Effective parental education is essential for early recognition of warning signs and appropriate care-seeking behavior. As parents increasingly turn to short-video platforms for health information, pediatricians need to understand the quality of content shaping parental knowledge. This study evaluated the quality, reliability, and guideline-based completeness of neonatal jaundice videos on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) and Bilibili. A cross-sectional analysis of 180 videos (Bilibili: 100; Douyin: 80) was conducted. Sources were categorized into medical professionals, non-professional organizations, and individuals. Quality and reliability were assessed using the Global Quality Score (GQS), modified DISCERN, and JAMA benchmarks. Understandability and actionability were evaluated via PEMAT. Content completeness was assessed using a newly developed 12-item Neonatal Jaundice Content Index (NJCI). Multivariable regression identified independent predictors of video quality and completeness. Medical professionals contributed 60.6% of videos. While 57.8% of videos showed high general quality (GQS ≥ 4), medical professionals scored significantly higher than individual bloggers (P = 0.004). However, guideline-based content completeness was suboptimal across all groups (median NJCI: 2.0/12), with critical information (e.g., follow-up plans, sunlight exposure myths) rarely addressed. Multivariable analysis confirmed that professional identity independently predicted higher general quality. Conversely, higher view counts were paradoxically associated with lower content completeness scores. Although videos posted by medical professionals were of higher overall quality, guideline-based content completeness remained suboptimal across uploader categories, and engagement metrics were not associated with medical accuracy. Pediatricians should proactively address common misconceptions during discharge counseling, and professional organizations should consider developing minimum content standards for social media health education to promote guideline-concordant parental information.