Short video platforms as sources of health information about cervical cancer: A content and quality analysis

Background The development of short popular science video platforms helps people obtain health information, but no research has evaluated the information characteristics and quality of short videos related to cervical cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quality and reliability of short cervical cancer-related videos on TikTok and Kwai. Methods The Chinese keyword "cervical cancer" was used to search for related videos on TikTok and Kwai, and a total of 163 videos were ultimately included. The overall quality of these videos was evaluated by the Global Quality Score (GQS) and the modified DISCERN tool. Results A total of 163 videos were included in this study, TikTok and Kwai contributed 82 and 81 videos, respectively. Overall, these videos received much attention; the median number of likes received was 1360 (403–6867), the median number of comments was 147 (40–601), and the median number of collections was 282 (71–1296). In terms of video content, the etiology of cervical cancer was the most frequently discussed topic. Short videos posted on TikTok received more attention than did those posted on Kwai, and the GQS and DISCERN score of videos posted on TikTok were significantly better than those of videos posted on Kwai. In addition, the videos posted by specialists were of the highest quality, with a GQS and DISCERN score of 3 (2–3) and 2 (2–3), respectively. Correlation analysis showed that GQS was significantly correlated with the modified DISCERN scores (p<0.001). Conclusion In conclusion, the quality and reliability of cervical cancer-related health information provided by short videos were unsatisfactory, and the quality of the videos posted on TikTok was better than that of videos posted on Kwai. Compared with those posted by individual users, short videos posted by specialists provided higher-quality health information.