Poster Session 4
Category: Digital Health Technologies (DHT)
Poster Session 4
Minhazur R. Sarker, MD
Fellow Physician
Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Diego
San Diego, California, United States
Emma Jacobs, BS
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Diego
San Diego, California, United States
Rachel L. Wiley, MD, MPH (she/her/hers)
Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellow
Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Diego
San Diego, California, United States
Ukachi N. Emeruwa, MD, MPH (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor/Women's Reproductive Health Research Scholar
University of California San Diego
San Diego, California, United States
Postpartum hypertension accounts for a significant proportion of hypertension-related deaths, highlighting the importance of understanding the community perception of this pathology. We aimed to evaluate content using #PostpartumHypertension (#pphtn) on TikTok.
Study Design:
This was a cross-sectional study of the top 100 English videos by play count using #pphtn on TikTok. Videos were generated using the TikTok Data Extractor by Apify. The primary outcome was the number of videos relevant to the hashtag. The secondary outcomes included pre-specified themes (e.g. declining interventions, distrusting providers, seeking advice/community). A Global Quality Score (GQS) for each video was assigned; GCS is a validated tool rating medical content from 1 (low, patient use discouraged) to 5 (high, medically useful). Medical claims content was evaluated using mDISCERN – a validated scale to assess the accuracy of medical information. Additional metrics were collected for video characteristics.
Results:
Among the top 100 videos using #pphtn, 67 were relevant, suggesting the hashtag is not appropriately utilized. Most creators were women, located in the United States, and without available credentials, suggesting likely lay-individuals (Table 1). With respect to video type, most were personal experience or in the “other” category (Table 2). The median [interquartile range] GQS was 1 [1,2] suggesting that these videos were typically of limited medial usefulness (Table 2). Only 5 (7.5%) videos made medical claims of which 2 were evidence based and 3 were not. While 65.7% of videos expressed themes of fear, almost all videos had a supportive comments section, suggesting a caring community within this hashtag. Additional characteristics are noted in Table 2.
Conclusion:
Our findings suggest that #PostpartumHypertension TikTok content is of low usefulness. Despite a supportive community, there is a consistent theme of fear and minimal healthcare provider presence. Creation of higher quality, evidence-based content on postpartum hypertension may improve the tone of the community.