Description
Background: Ninety-five (95%) percent of the malaria deaths occur in Africa, but the introduction of the malaria vaccine offers hope. However, misinformation poses a significant barrier to the vaccine uptake.
With 1 billion active users monthly, Tiktok is an increasingly popular platform for communicating health information, however the quality and engagement of malaria vaccine-related videos remains largely unexplored.
Therefore, this study aimed to assess the engagement and quality of malaria vaccine-related TikTok videos in Africa.
Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search on TikTok using keywords ‘malaria’, ‘vaccine’, and ‘Africa’ for videos posted between 2021-2023. All the identified videos were screened using the eligibility criteria (we didn't specify which eligibility criteria)
The quality of the videos that met the established criteria were evaluated using the DISCERN health information assessment tool. The DISCERN assessment tool evaluates health information materials for reliability, quality of the information, and overall rating of the information. The engagements of the videos were explored using the number of views, likes, comments, and shares of each video. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive analysis tools.
Results: Our findings revealed that out of the nine (9) eligible videos in five African countries, 77.8% were entirely focused on the malaria vaccine. The mean score on the DISCERN quality assessment tool was 40.1 out of 80, indicating fair quality. The average number of views was 10,994, and the mean values of likes, comments, and shares were 580.2, 30.1, and 72.4, respectively.
Conclusion: Based on our findings, there were only a few videos providing information on the malaria vaccine on the TikTok platform in Africa, in comparison to the wide pool of people who utilize this platform, and with this information being fair in quality on average. Health professionals and policymakers need to work with social media creators to increase education through TikTok and ensure that the videos provide appropriate information to contribute to the fight against malaria.
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