EP752 - From Scrolling to Screening: TikTok's Role in Colon Cancer Prevention

Purpose/Background: Social media platforms, such as TikTok, are now one of the major ways through which the general population consumes information regarding health care. Given the significant impact of social media, it is important to assess the credibility and validity of social media platforms on educating the public on health care related issues. As Colon Cancer is now the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths 1, there is a wide interest in the public to understand risk factors, protective factors, screening and prevention for colon cancer. We aimed to assess the quality and reliability of content surrounding Colorectal cancer prevention on TikTok.

Methods/Interventions: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of TikTok videos addressing colorectal cancer prevention. Search words including "colon cancer prevention" and "stop colon cancer" were utilized to identify videos pertaining to colon cancer prevention. Videos were excluded if they were not relevant to the topic or not in English. The top 50 relevant videos were selected and evaluated by two independent reviewers. Videos were classified based on identity of the content creator, specifically whether the creator was a healthcare professional or patient. Engagement was assessed by evaluating the number of likes and views. NIH guidelines on Colon Cancer prevention served as the reference standard for evaluating whether the videos contained relevant evidence-based information.

Results/Outcomes: A total of 50 TikTok videos related to colorectal cancer prevention were reviewed. Views for all videos ranged from 1038 to 815,900, with the average being 201.165. Analysis revealed that physicians, including colorectal surgeons, gastroenterologists, and hospitalists, created 70% of the videos. The second most common content creators were other health care professionals, including dietitians, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists. Of all the videos, the majority were educational (96%).

Analysis of the videos showed that the most common recommendation for prevention of colorectal cancer was diet modification (80%), such as avoiding red meat and processed food, increasing fiber intake, incorporating more fruits/vegetables/grains, etc. The second most common recommendation was to limit alcohol use. It is also important to note that Colorectal screening was only mentioned in 26% of the videos.

Conclusion/Discussion: The increasing incidence in colon cancer in patients aged less than 50 continues to be a pressing matter2. This same population obtains a significant amount of their knowledge and information via social media. As social media platforms, such as TikTok, become a common avenue for patients to obtain information regarding colon cancer prevention, it is important to ensure the credibility of these sources. Our study showed that healthcare professionals have a strong presence on TikTok, producing high quality videos with recommendations aligning with the NIH. However, our results also demonstrated poor content available related to prevention and screening, which illustrates a substantial gap in the dissemination of crucial information but also a promising target or future content creation and engagement.

Demographic Characteristics 
Recommendations for Colon Cancer Prevention on TikTok