*EMBARGOED All research presented at the 2022 ACG Annual Scientific Meeting and Postgraduate Course is strictly embargoed until Sunday, October 23, 2022, at 12:00 pm EDT.
Poster B0273 – TikTok and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): A Cross-Sectional Study of Social Media Content Quality
Monday, October 24, 2022 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET | Location: Crown Ballroom
Author Insight from Faraz Jafri, BS, Dell Medical School
What’s new here and important for clinicians?
- Health influencers have become prominent figures on Tiktok garnering millions of views sharing their views and providing advice on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- With the onset of COVID-19, social media platforms like Tiktok became an important outlet for patients to share their experience with IBS because they were not willing to visit their doctor
- Posts with the #IBS have garnered 1.6 billion views, with many accounts dedicated to helping people deal with IBS
- This “DIY” approach to IBS has taken off on Tiktok with posts regarding diet, lifestyle, medicine, and product advertisement
- When looking at posts from influencers, ~20% of the educational content related to IBS was found to be non-factual when fact checked against current peer-reviewed research
- Users were most interested in posts that discussed lifestyle changes that could alleviate symptoms of IBS (massage, diet, positioning, clothing, etc.)
- Health influencers have significant outreach that can be utilized to disseminate important public health information and reach patient populations that lack access to care
What do patients need to know?
- Although Tiktok may have valuable information regarding IBS and its treatment, it is important to be aware of misinformation and consult your physician when deciding to start a new diet or medicine.
- While IBS is often an embarrassing topic for patients, Tiktok has played an important role in normalizing IBS by providing an online support community where patients can go and share their story
- Patients can use Tiktok to find helpful “tips and tricks” provided by licensed medical professionals that can improve lifestyle and provide symptom relief
Author Contact
Faraz Jafri, BS, Dell Medical School
farazirfanjafri [at] utexas.edu
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