Millions of women are turning to social media app TikTok to seek health advice about gynecological cancer. However, a recent study published in Gynecologic Oncology by The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Soloway Research Institute shows that much of this information is misleading or seriously wrong.
The double-edged sword of social media
This highlights the power of social media to provide misinformation that can be harmful to patients' health, but it also provides an opportunity to plug holes that are unlikely to arise during outpatient appointments, said Laura Chambers, MD, the study's senior author.
Laura Chambers, a physician, creates educational videos about gynecological cancer on TikTok for The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center to prevent the spread of misinformation about cancer. She recently published a study that evaluated 500 TikTok posts and found that existing cancer content on the app lacked accurate educational value. Source: Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solovey Research Institute
Chambers was interested in learning more about the concerns of her patients, often mothers and young women. She wanted to understand how these patients used social media, what information they shared, and how they consumed it.
Millions of women are getting health advice related to gynecological cancer through the social media platform TikTok, but much of the information is misleading or grossly inaccurate, according to a new study published in the journal Gynecologic Oncology by The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solovey Research Institute. Image credit: Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Soloway Research Institute
"The purpose of this study is to understand patient needs that may not be addressed in the clinic but represent gaps in care that need to be addressed," said Chambers, an orthopedic surgeon at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-James Cancer Hospital. "As physicians, we focus on treatment toxicity and patient outcomes, but many of our patients struggle with very difficult challenges at home - such as how to show love and attention to their children while they are being treated for fatigue."
Research methods and results
In the new study, the research team systematically searched the 500 most popular TikTok posts and analyzed the top five tags related to gynecological cancers (ovarian, endometrial, cervical, vulvar, and gestational trophoblastic disease) in each post to understand the key themes, information quality, and reliability of gynecological cancer-related content on the social media platform TikTok. Demographic information, message tone, and topics were collected.
Laura Chambers, MD, studied gynecological cancer content on TikTok and found that popular posts had little educational value. Chambers found many posts talking about non-standard substances and supplements that are not medically proven to treat cancer. To combat the spread of misinformation on social media apps like TikTok, Chambers has held open conversations with patients to answer their questions. Source: Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solovey Research Institute
Educational videos were rated for quality using established health education information scales. As of August 2022, the top five tags for each gynecological cancer have been viewed more than 466 million times.
Researchers found that, overall, the quality of information shared through TikTok was poor, with at least 73% of the content inaccurate and educational quality low. Racial disparities in gynecological cancer also extend into this social media space.
"These data raise many questions about next steps to address these inaccuracies and communicate directly with patients, particularly focusing on opportunities to create more diverse content to overcome the racial and cultural disparities associated with treating these cancers," Chambers said. "The vulnerability shown by social media content around individuals' cancer journeys It's encouraging, but these data do prompt us to ask, how can we, as a medical community, provide a care environment that encourages this kind of trust and authentic conversations with patients? What can we, as a broader community, do to provide high-quality health information and support services to patients seeking information about gynecological cancer?"
Chambers encourages patients who want a community of like-minded people who are going through similar experiences to seek out in-person and online support communities sponsored by prominent medical and patient advocacy organizations.