The quality and reliability of osteosarcoma information on TikTok and Bilibili: A cross-sectional study

Osteosarcoma is a rare and aggressive bone malignancy, yet public awareness remains insufficient. As social media platforms have become key sources of health information, this study aims to evaluate the quality and reliability of osteosarcoma-related videos on these platforms.

This study collected 100 osteosarcoma-related videos from each platform, TikTok and Bilibili, based on their default ranking, resulting in 200 videos initially screened and 183 included after exclusions. Video characteristics were collected, including duration, likes, saves, comments, and shares. The Global Quality Scale (GQS) and Modified Discrimination Score (mDISCERN) were used to assess video quality and reliability. The completeness score (CS) was applied to evaluate five key aspects of the disease: etiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and diagnosis. Finally, correlation analysis is carried out to explore the relationship among video features, audience engagement indicators, and video quality.

A total of 183 osteosarcoma-related videos were included. Clinical manifestations, treatment, and diagnosis were the most frequently addressed topics, whereas etiology and prognosis received comparatively less attention. TikTok videos had a median GQS of 2(Q1 = 2.00, Q3 = 3.00), a median mDISCERN of 3 (Q1 = 2.00, Q3 = 4.00), and a median CS of 4 (Q1 = 2.00, Q3 = 4.00). In contrast, Bilibili videos demonstrated higher quality, with a median GQS of 3 (Q2 = 2.00, Q3 = 3.00), a median mDISCERN of 3 (Q1 = 3.00, Q3 = 4.00), and a median CS of 4 (Q1 = 3.00, Q3 = 6.00). Videos produced by healthcare professionals achieved significantly higher scores compared to those uploaded by non-professionals (p < 0.01). Spearman correlation analysis revealed no significant association between video features and quality scores.

In conclusion, the overall quality and reliability of osteosarcoma-related videos on short video platforms were low. Videos uploaded by healthcare professionals and those on the Bilibili platform demonstrated relatively higher quality. These findings highlight the necessity of strengthening the regulation of health-related content on short video platforms and promoting greater involvement of healthcare professionals.