Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40055918›Full record

ArticleMedical education online2025

Assessing the educational impact and quality of medical microvideos on TikTok: the case of Latin America.

Juan S Izquierdo-Condoy, Marlon Arias-Intriago, Melizza Mosquera-Quiñónez, Fernando P Melgar Muñoz, Mariana Jiménez-Ascanio, Valentina Loaiza-Guevara, Esteban Ortiz-Prado

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Medical education online, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Juan S Izquierdo-CondoyOne Health Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.ORCID 0000-0002-1178-0546
Marlon Arias-IntriagoOne Health Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.
Melizza Mosquera-QuiñónezFacultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia.
Fernando P Melgar MuñozOne Health Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.
Mariana Jiménez-AscanioFacultad de Medicina, Fundación Universitaria Autónoma de las Américas, Pereira, Colombia.
Valentina Loaiza-GuevaraFacultad de Medicina, Fundación Universitaria Autónoma de las Américas, Pereira, Colombia.
Esteban Ortiz-PradoOne Health Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador.ORCID 0000-0002-1895-7498

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSocial media use in medical education has surged, with YouTube and Facebook leading before COVID-19. Recently, TikTok has drawn young learners, expanding access but often lacking alignment with formal curricula and quality standards.

objectivesThis study aims to analyze the quality of academic medical content on TikTok within the Latin American context, focusing on the most-viewed Spanish-language accounts. MATERIALS AND

methodsThis cross-sectional study analyzed medical education microvideos on TikTok through a systematic search conducted on 1 March 2024, using the keywords 'medical education' and 'medical review.' The search yielded 300 microvideos, from which the 100 most-viewed were selected. The 13 most popular accounts were identified, and their top three most-viewed microvideos were analyzed, resulting in a final sample of 39 microvideos. Popularity was measured through views, likes, and the Viewability Index (VPI), while educational quality was assessed using the JAMA Benchmark Criteria, which evaluates authorship, attribution, disclosure, and validity.

resultsThe majority of accounts (69.2%) were male-created, with 30.8% based in Mexico and Peru. Physicians comprised 53.8% of content creators, followed by medical students (23.1%). General medical education was the main focus (69.2%), with general medicine as the most common topic (76.9%). The dataset included 39 microvideos, averaging 1,653,677 views, and #medicina was the most frequently used hashtag. Popularity metrics strongly correlated with engagement metrics (comments, shares) but weakly with favorites. Educational quality scores were low, with only two accounts scoring 1 out of 4 points on the JAMA Benchmark.

conclusionTikTok's engagement metrics amplify popular medical microvideos among Spanish-speaking users but do not reliably reflect educational quality, raising concerns about misinformation. 'Favorites' may serve as a more accurate indicator of perceived informational value. Standardized assessment tools should incorporate both engagement and quality metrics to improve content reliability and accessibility to evidence-based medical information.

Indexed as

Education, MedicalSocial MediaCOVID-19Cross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansLatin AmericaMalehealth professionLatin AmericaMedical educationMicrolearningTikTok

Identifiers

PMID40055918
PMCPMC11892066

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.