Quality Assessment of Hypertension and Diabetes-related Health Information on Douyin Platform

Abstract

Background: Hypertension and diabetes, as two of the most prevalent chronic diseases contributing to the global disease burden, exert a profound influence on patient self-management efficacy, which is heavily dependent on the quality of available treatment information. Increasingly, patients and the general public are turning to digital platforms—particularly short-video applications—as primary sources of health-related guidance. Douyin has emerged as a critical information source for individuals with chronic conditions. However, the quality of its health-related content remains systematically underevaluated, raising concerns about its reliability and clinical utility. Objective: This study aims to systematically evaluate the quality of hypertension- and diabetes-related treatment information disseminated on Douyin and to identify key determinants influencing the credibility and accuracy of such audiovisual material. Methods: This cross-sectional content analysis collected the top 100 most-viewed videos about hypertension and diabetes on Douyin. Videos were classified by uploader type, presence of references, uploader verification status, and whether they discussed traditional Chinese medicine. Video quality was evaluated using the DISCERN instrument with guideline supplements to assess information quality, accuracy, and completeness. Correlation analysis examined relationships between video length, likes, comments, favorites, shares and quality scores. Results: Overall, the quality of hypertension- and diabetes-related videos on Douyin was suboptimal, with mean total DISCERN scores of 35.55 (SD=3.32) and 33.83 (SD=2.53), respectively. Significant differences in DISCERN scores and total scores were observed between videos with and without referenced sources for both conditions (P<0.05). For diabetes content, statistically significant differences were found in completeness and accuracy scores between videos discussing traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) therapies versus those that did not (P=0.01). Hypertension videos showed a significant correlation between video duration and total score (P<0.05). However, no significant correlations were found between total scores and engagement metrics (shares, likes, comments, or favorites) for either condition (all P>0.05). Conclusions: Our study yielded two principal findings: First, video duration demonstrated a measurable correlation with content quality, with longer videos exhibiting more comprehensive coverage of disease definitions, treatment modalities, and associated risks, whereas shorter videos frequently suffered from informational fragmentation and omission of critical content. Second, while TCM-themed videos have proliferated rapidly, they consistently displayed quality deficiencies including incomplete information and questionable accuracy - achieving high dissemination volumes despite low reliability. Notably, Douyin’s current professional verification system failed to ensure content quality, as verified and non-verified accounts showed no significant differences in information quality, revealing systemic shortcomings in the platform’s credential verification processes, ongoing oversight mechanisms, and user guidance protocols.