A descriptive analysis of otolaryngology presence on the social media platform TikTok

In recent years, the video sharing app TikTok has become a new venue for health care providers and medical educators. Research on health care information within the app has primarily focused on cosmetic and plastic surgery content. TikTok could potentially be a tool used to educate the public on otolaryngology-related topics. This study is the first to analyze the quality and quantity of otolaryngology-related TikTok content.

A cross-sectional study of TikTok accounts using otolaryngology-related hashtags within the preceding 6 months was conducted on February 4, 2023. Deductive qualitative analysis was performed between two coders to identify themes of the accounts and their content.

A total of 47 accounts were selected for analysis. Facial plastic surgery was the most represented specialty (n = 20; 43%) and pediatric otolaryngology the least represented (n = 1; 2%). Content posted was primarily educational in nature (n = 30; 64%) and 66% (n = 31) of content creators advertised contact information in their account biography. The majority of accounts were in English (n = 30; 64%) and originated in the United States (n = 30; 64%). More accounts were run by male (n = 29; 62%) than female content creators.

Otolaryngology is a broad specialty with unequal representation of the related subspecialties on TikTok, a popular social media platform. The majority of current content focuses on patient education in facial plastic surgery. Future studies are warranted to examine the potential growth and impact of otolaryngology content on this video-based platform.

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