What does this research mean for the field?

TikTok videos about sudden cardiac death created by healthcare professionals provide significantly higher quality information and are shared more frequently than those by non-professionals, despite having lower overall engagement rates. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

The study aims to evaluate the quality and sentiment of sudden cardiac death content on TikTok, comparing videos from healthcare professionals and non-HCPs.

March 26, 2026

1639: Content Quality and Sentiment of Sudden Cardiac Death Material on Tiktok: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Key Points

The study aims to evaluate the quality and sentiment of sudden cardiac death content on TikTok, comparing videos from healthcare professionals and non-HCPs.
Identified top-performing SCD-related hashtags using the EXOLYT analytics platform.
Collected and analyzed 83 videos, assessing engagement metrics and creator status.
Evaluated content quality using the DISCERN Scale and modified CRAAP test.
Used Spearman correlations to explore relationships between quality, sentiment, and type of creator.
Healthcare professional videos were significantly longer and had more reshares.
HCP videos showed higher content quality with significantly better median scores on both DISCERN and CRAAP tests.
Longer videos correlated with higher quality scores but had more negative sentiment.
No significant correlation was found between sentiment and quality scores or HCP status.

Abstract

Introduction: TikTok is a significant source of health information, but the quality of content on topics like sudden cardiac death (SCD) is often unclear, leading to concerns about misinformation. This study hypothesized that videos from healthcare professionals (HCPs) would have higher quality and different sentiment compared to those from non-HCPs. Methods: Using the EXOLYT analytics platform, we identified top-performing SCD-related hashtags. The top 100 videos were collected, and after excluding irrelevant content, 83 videos were analyzed. For each video, we recorded engagement metrics (likes, comments, shares), creator status (HCP vs. non-HCP), and sentiment. The quality of health information was evaluated using the DISCERN Scale and a modified CRAAP test. Spearman correlations were used to explore relationships between quality, sentiment, and creator type. Results: HCP videos were significantly longer (median 65s vs. 39.5s, p=0.0102) and had more reshares (median 6 vs. 2, p=0.0050), though non-HCP content had a higher engagement rate (median 5.2% vs. 1.3%, p=0.0014). HCP videos demonstrated superior content quality, with significantly higher median DISCERN (41.5 vs. 26.75, p< 0.0001) and modified CRAAP scores (26 vs. 11, p< 0.0001). Longer videos correlated with higher quality scores (DISCERN: ρ=0.291, p=0.008; CRAAP: ρ=0.321, p=0.003) but also more negative sentiment (ρ=-0.346, p=0.001). Reshares also positively correlated with DISCERN (ρ=0.239, p=0.029) and CRAAP (ρ=0.418, p< 0.0001). No significant correlation was found between sentiment and quality scores or HCP status. Conclusions: TikTok content from healthcare professionals provides significantly higher quality health information regarding sudden cardiac death While longer videos from HCPs tend to be of higher quality and are shared more frequently, they may not achieve the same overall engagement rates as non-HCP content. Promoting HCP-generated content is crucial for improving the accuracy of critical health information on social media.

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1639: Content Quality and Sentiment of Sudden Cardiac Death Material on Tiktok: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

Key Points

Abstract

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