Videos in short-video sharing platforms as sources of information on heatstroke: a cross-sectional content analysis...

Over the past few years, short videos have shown considerable promise as a medium for disseminating health-related information. Health-related content about heatstroke is extensively circulated across short video platforms. Nonetheless, the quality, credibility, practical value, and accuracy of the professional knowledge conveyed in these short videos have not been systematically assessed.

This study aims to analyze the content and quality of videos related to heatstroke on short video sharing platforms.

As of September 1, 2025, the term "heatstroke" was used as a keyword to search on TikTok, BiliBili, and Kwai short video platforms, and the top 300 videos from each platform were included and recorded. Two qualified researchers independently assessed the content and quality of the selected videos utilizing the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) scoring system, the Global Quality Scale (GQS), the modified DISCERN instrument, and the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT). SPSS version 26.0 and decision chain analysis were used to generate descriptive statistics, compare differences between groups, and assess relationships among variables via Spearman correlation analysis.

This study analyzed 632 heatstroke-related videos on BiliBili, TikTok, and Kwai. The quality of videos varied considerably across platforms. These videos had a mean JAMA score of 1.50 (SD: 0.72), a mean GQS score of 3.14 (SD: 0.83), a mean modified DISCERN score of 2.35 (SD: 0.74), a mean PEMAT-understandability score of 0.58 (SD: 0.11), and a mean PEMAT-actionability score of 0.50 (SD: 0.32). Overall, the general quality and reliability of videos on TikTok and BiliBili were superior to those on Kwai. Most videos were uploaded by news agencies and physicians (accounting for 37.5% and 35.28%, respectively), with the content primarily focusing on symptoms (32.75%) and treatment (23.73%). Across platforms, video duration was positively correlated with video quality.

The findings reveal that heat stroke-related short videos across BiliBili, TikTok, and Kwai are generally of low quality and vary markedly among platforms, which may misguide public health practices. The results suggest the need to strengthen the development of authoritative science popularization content, optimize health communication strategies, and introduce platform quality assessment and recommendation mechanisms to enhance the public's disease prevention capabilities.