Introduction: Black men have higher incidence and mortality from prostate cancer than white men, and Hispanic men have an increased risk of advanced stage disease. Health-related videos on social media have increased markedly in recent years, and a vast majority of Black and Hispanic adults use social media. We investigated the content quality and racial/ethnic representation of prostate cancer screening videos on YouTube and TikTok.
Methods: The top 50 videos for the search term “prostate cancer screening” on both YouTube and TikTok were retrieved in a cache-cleared browser. Three reviewers analyzed all videos using validated criteria for the quality of consumer health information (DISCERN and PEMAT). High quality was defined as: DISCERN =4, PEMAT understandability =75%, and PEMAT actionability =75%. Additionally, a published Likert scale was used to demonstrate the level of misinformation compared to American Urological Association and National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. Perceived race and ethnicity of people in the videos were assessed by consensus approach.
Results: Median number of views was lower on YouTube than TikTok (909, range: 12-221,003 vs 23,150, range: 640-13,900,000). Perceived Black and Hispanic representation was present in 10% and 6% of YouTube videos, and 20% and 12% of TikTok videos, respectively. High-risk racial/ethnic groups were explicitly discussed in 46% of YouTube videos and 8% of TikTok videos. 98% of YouTube videos and 100% of TikTok videos had low to moderate quality consumer health information, and 88% of YouTube videos and 100% of TikTok videos had moderate to high levels of misinformation based on screening guidelines.
Conclusions: Social media videos about prostate cancer screening are widely viewed but do not provide quality consumer health information. Black and Hispanic men remain underrepresented on both platforms, and high-risk racial groups were not discussed in most videos despite the importance for screening criteria. The low understandability, low actionability, significant misinformation, and a lack of diversity in online videos may contribute to disparities in prostate cancer screening.
Source of Funding: Funding for SL: Department of Defense Health Disparity Research Award, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Edward Blank and Sharon Cosloy-Blank Family Foundation
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