# Evaluation of Social Media Short‐Form Video Content for Patient Education on Vision‐Threatening Diseases

## TL;DR

This study evaluates short-form social media videos about vision-threatening diseases to assess their quality, content, and popularity.

## Contribution

The study quantifies the quality and engagement of short-form videos on vision-threatening diseases across multiple social media platforms.

## Key findings

- TikTok videos had higher engagement than Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
- YouTube Shorts had significantly higher quality and reliability scores than other platforms.
- Videos from healthcare professionals had the highest quality scores.

## Abstract

The rapid spread of unreliable misinformation on vision‐threatening diseases can significantly affect the eye health behaviors and outcomes of the patients consuming short‐form social media content. This study evaluates short‐form videos pertaining to vision‐threatening diseases to quantify video quality, content, and popularity.

This cross‐sectional study analyzed short‐form videos on cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and age‐related macular degeneration from TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. A hashtag search identified the first fifty videos on each disease from each social media platform. Two reviewers evaluated them, resolving discrepancies with a third. Outcome measures included number of views, likes, comments, uploader source, content type, modified DISCERN score (0–5 scale), and global quality scale (GQS) score (1–5 scale). Engagement outcomes were summarized descriptively using medians and interquartile ranges, while reliability and quality outcomes were analyzed using one‐way ANOVA with Tukey post hoc comparisons.

TikTok videos demonstrated higher median engagement (views, likes, and comments) compared to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Videos on cataracts had higher engagement statistics compared to the other vision‐threatening diseases across all platforms. Physicians were the most common video source (45%). The most common content categories were treatments/management (36%) and general symptoms (22%). YouTube Shorts had a significantly greater average DISCERN (2.93 ± 0.70) and GQS score (3.85 ± 1.26) than Instagram Reels and TikTok (p < 0.001). Videos from patients had the lowest mean DISCERN and GQS scores.

TikTok had the greatest median engagement levels, while YouTube Shorts had the greatest mean quality and reliability. Videos from patients and philanthropists had lower quality scores, while healthcare professionals and organizations had the highest. Future efforts should understand the patients’ perspectives, address misinformation, and improve quality across all social media platforms.