# Educational performance of TikTok short videos for age related macular degeneration and its link to user engagement

## TL;DR

This study evaluates the quality and user engagement of TikTok videos about age-related macular degeneration in China, finding that non-profit and medical creators provide the best educational content.

## Contribution

The study fills a research gap by analyzing TikTok's educational content on age-related macular degeneration and linking it to user engagement.

## Key findings

- Non-Profit and Medical groups produced higher quality videos compared to For-Profit and Non-Medical groups.
- Higher quality videos correlated with greater user engagement, suggesting better content spreads more on the platform.
- Content often focused on clinical concerns but lacked basic disease knowledge.

## Abstract

To systematically evaluate the information quality, reliability, and content characteristics of short videos related to age-related macular degeneration on the Chinese mainland version of TikTok, filling the research gap in this field and providing references for ophthalmic health education and platform information governance.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on October 15, 2025, by searching the keyword “年龄相关性黄斑变性” on TikTok. The top 200 videos under “comprehensive ranking” were screened, and 196 videos meeting the eligibility criteria were ultimately included. Content integrity was evaluated following the American Academy of Ophthalmology guidelines and the Goobie framework. Video quality was assessed using the DISCERN instrument and the PEMAT-A/V tool. Statistical analyses were performed in IBM SPSS Statistics 27.0, with inter-rater reliability measured by the intraclass correlation coefficient. Differences among groups and associations between variables were examined using ANOVA and correlation analysis.

The overall quality of the included videos was moderate, with a median DISCERN tool score of 48.00 and a median Overall quality score of 3.00. The Understandability score was relatively high (median 84.62%), whereas the Actionability score was lower (median 75.00%). Videos uploaded by the Non-Profit group showed the highest quality (mean DISCERN tool score 59.13 ± 2.50), followed by the Medical group. The Non-Medical and For-Profit groups demonstrated the lowest quality, with statistically significant differences among groups (P < 0.05). Quality metrics were moderately positively correlated with user engagement metrics. The correlation coefficients between reliability and engagement were r = 0.48–0.54 (P < 0.05). Video duration showed a mild positive correlation with both quality and engagement (r = 0.23–0.30, P < 0.05). Inter-rater reliability was good (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.839–0.947, P < 0.001).

Age-related macular degeneration videos on TikTok showed moderate overall quality, with content emphasizing clinical concerns but neglecting basic knowledge. Information quality varied by uploader source, with non-profit organizations and medical professionals providing most high-quality content. Higher-quality videos tended to receive greater user engagement, suggesting that platform algorithms may preferentially spread better educational material. These findings provide empirical support for improving science communication on this disease and strengthening information quality management on digital platforms.