Intersection of TikTok/Douyin and Dementia: A Scoping Review of Research to Date (2016-May 2025)

Short-form video platforms like TikTok play a special cultural role for this decade, enabling research in a range of fields, including health and information sciences. With 55 million Alzheimer's and other dementia cases worldwide, research has started to include TikTok and Douyin as a tool, a site, or a context for understanding and improving dementia-related lived experiences. This review of 15 articles is the first to assess the scope of TikTok/Douyin research (2016-May 2025) on dementia since the apps were launched, identifying the role of TikTok/Douyin in dementia research, shedding light on where the current science is and in which directions future research can better leverage TikTok/Douyin. Implications of findings for dementia care practice and the design of information technology in healthcare are also discussed.