The quality and reliability of short videos about myocardial infarction on TikTok: a cross-sectional study

Introduction Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the major diseases affecting human health and life, characterized by its acute onset and high mortality rate. Social media platforms like TikTok are playing an increasingly important role in disease education and prevention. This study evaluated the quality of MI-related science education videos on TikTok and examined the relationship between video content quality and user engagement. Methods Video quality was assessed using the Global Quality Scale (GQS), Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark standards, and the modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) tool. Video duration and engagement metrics (likes, comments, shares, and collections) were recorded. Spearman’s correlation and linear regression analyses were employed to examine the relationship between video quality and engagement. Results After screening the videos, a total of 270 videos were analyzed. Collectively, these videos garnered 35,913,507 likes, 12,745,256 shares, 8,072,837 collections, and 1,306,276 comments. Most videos (84.1%, n =227) were uploaded by healthcare professionals, predominantly Western medicine practitioners (83.7%, 190/227). The highest proportion of videos scored 3 on the GQS scale (47.0%, 127/270). The highest proportion of videos scored 2 on the JAMA scale, accounting for 81.5% (220/270). The highest proportion of videos scored 3 on the mDISCERN scale, accounting for 45.9% (124/270). Video duration showed a significant positive correlation with both GQS and mDISCERN scores. The number of bookmarks correlated positively with both JAMA and mDISCERN scores. Discussion As a widely used video dissemination platform, TikTok provides users with a positive experience, with the overall quality of MI-related short videos remaining at a moderate level. Analysis indicates that extending video duration and appropriately citing references and sources can further enhance video quality and reliability, offering users more comprehensive knowledge and improved disease prevention outcomes.