A cross-sectional assessment of the quality and reliability of sleep disorder information on Douyin (TikTok in China)
Yanbin Lin, Hongli Tao, Guoying Sun, Shanshan Zhao, Lina Wang · 2026
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Description
Yanbin Lin and four colleagues audited in 2026 the quality of sleep disorder videos on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. Short videos now guide many young people's health choices, yet the reliability of what they show about sleep problems had not been systematically checked. The team pooled the top 200 results for three Chinese sleep keywords, then removed duplicates, advertisements, and off-topic clips, leaving 154 videos for double-blinded rating with four quality tools.
Overall quality was moderate, with median scores of 2 on the Global Quality Scale, the JAMA benchmarks, and the modified DISCERN tool. Gaps were large: 34.4 percent of videos lacked detection information, 40.3 percent gave only minimal treatment detail, and 52.6 percent omitted outcomes altogether. Videos by health professionals scored significantly higher, and engagement rose with quality, unlike in some other health topics. The authors call for stronger verification and more professional creators on the platform.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Yanbin Lin, Hongli Tao, Guoying Sun, Shanshan Zhao, Lina Wang |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 28 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |