(1044) Evaluation of Tiktok Social Media Posts Regarding Side Effect Information of Popular Weight Loss Medications

Objectives: Reaching an excess of 1.8 billion global users monthly, social media outlets, such as TikTok, have emerged as an influential resource of medical information for many consumers due to its availability and easily consumable format. A 2022 survey found 1 in 5 Americans consult TikTok for health advice prior to a doctor and trust influencers more than healthcare professionals. TikTok videos can be created by both consumers of products, patients of disease states, and healthcare professionals. The intent of videos may range from honest opinions to product or self-advertisement for profit to educational presentation-type format. While there are benefits to learning directly from the personal health experiences of others, the lack of health care expertise by many of the individuals producing this content can create misinformation and potential harm. Simultaneously, pharmaceutical therapies resulting in weight loss and body mass index reductions have become widely used. The intersection of social media and pharmaceuticals is growing rapidly, but without processes in place to ensure that the audience will be able to understand and act on information shared. While the literature base is growing in this area, there is still a general lack of understanding of the quality of social media posts containing medical information. Weight loss medications provide an exemplar topic in this regard because of their current focus not only within the health care system but also the general public. At 34% of surveyed users of all ages, weight loss is one of the most consulted health topics on TikTok. The objective of this study is to evaluate weight loss medication side effect related content from healthcare providers and non-healthcare providers on TikTok for understandability and actionability utilizing the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT).

Methods: This observational research study evaluated videos on the social media platform, TikTok. A search was performed in June 2023 of four hashtags (#ozempicsideeffects, #semaglutidesideeffects, #mounjarosideeffects, #tirzepatidesideeffects), and the top 50 algorithm-generated resultant videos for each hashtag were viewed and evaluated using the validated PEMAT for audiovisual materials. Descriptive video information was collected regarding content creator (healthcare vs. non-healthcare provider), advertisements present, and popularity data (views, likes, shares, etc.). Duplicated videos and non-English videos were excluded. Descriptive statistics will be used to aggregate video and content creator characteristics. PEMAT scores and popularity of videos will be compared between healthcare and non-healthcare professionals, and between hashtags utilizing one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and two-sample t-test where appropriate.

Results: Data analysis is in-progress and will be completed by end of October 2023.

Conclusions: Social media outlets will only continue to grow as sources of information for the general public. The results of the study can help pharmacists and other healthcare providers better understand who is posting material and the quality of the content being produced on social media. Healthcare professionals can use these results when educating patients about the quality of social media related health posts. This study may highlight a need for healthcare organizations and/or colleges of pharmacy to provide education to healthcare providers on how to create quality content for medication education on social media-based platforms.