Endocrine Abstracts

Background: In the current digital age, social media brought information to our fingertips but also facilitated the spread of misinformation. The exponential growth of short video platforms shows potential for formulating evidence-based techniques to ensure the dissemination of accurate information without bias.

Objectives: 1. To create and disseminate peer-reviewed short videos about PCOS and Thyroid conditions. 2. To explore content creators’ experience, video outreach and audience engagement on social media.

Methods: This project was run from December 2022 to May 2023 in collaboration with British Thyroid Foundation and PCOS Vitality. Scripts based on the most searched topics in PCOS and thyroid conditions were created and reviewed by experts and patients to ensure scientific accuracy and acceptability. Once finalised, we invited medical students to create videos using the scripts. The videos were reviewed, edited to fit the requirements, and posted on TikTok, Instagram, youTube, and Twitter. Video engagement across social media over two months was analysed. Content creators were invited to a semi-structured virtual interview to explore their experiences and motivation to participate. Two independent authors coded the interview transcripts using Nvivo 12.0 to identify themes using thematic inductive analysis.

Results: Over 2 months, the videos received 718 likes, 120 shares, and 54686 views for 20 videos -19458 on TikTok, 12944 on Instagram, 2606 on youTube, and 19678 on Twitter. There was an increase in followers across all platforms - from an 89% increase on TikTok to a 5% increase on Twitter. Analysis of participant experience yielded 4 main themes: Views on social media, advice when using social media, reasons for participating, and thoughts on this project. Regarding views on social media, content creators highlighted the advantages of social media, including ‘large outreach’ (12 references), ‘convenience’ (10 references), and ‘accessibility to opportunities’ in fields of interest (7 references). The most common themes about advice were awareness of ‘audience’s demographics’ (9 references), ‘sharing on more than one platform’ (5 references), and ‘collaborating with organisations’ (3 references). Content creators mentioned that ‘non-restricting participation criteria’, ‘convenience’ (8 references) and ‘ability to record from home with a pre-written script’ (6 references) made it easier to participate.

Conclusions: Disseminating peer-reviewed information is a great way of harnessing the power of social media to increase awareness, tackle misinformation, and provide a channel for the public/patients to receive evidence-based information. Medical students have untapped potential to be content creators working with relevant authorities and patient support groups.