September 2024 digest

Are dermatology professionals needed to balance the influence of TikTok and other social networks?

Dear Colleagues, Dear Friends,

The hashtag #topicalsteroidwithdrawal (TSW) got more than 600 million views on TikTok. A recent Lebanese study (doi: 10.2196/48389) did a great job by studying the content of this hashtag and by trying to alert our community on what can be done to limit the spread of misinformation.

This comment could also be titled: how to make good research with limited resources?  The material used in the study is open access and is not limited by patient consent or ethical considerations. Applying to those data non-sophisticated statistics and validated scales allow to raise very relevant questions for our AD community.

This study shows that although TSW TikTok videos have a huge reach, the most viewed and liked 100 of them are of poor quality. It shows the inconsistency of TSW meaning for the lay public but suggests that a large subset of the patients using TikTok have AD and that they use improperly “TSW” to name simple relapses of the disease after topical steroid discontinuation. However, the massive reach of those videos and their poor content add to rampant cortico phobia and contribute to more generalized misinformation which is difficult to quantify. 

The authors propose a solution, urging health care professionals to be more active and post more videos on the topic on TikTok, since none in the 100 videos studied came from the profession. The ISAD could help creating an AD task force on Tik Tok, able to deliver one-minute videos of high quality, with the help of communication professionals. It would be possible to assess the influence of such videos statistically. Any input or suggestion of our community is welcome!

#rajka2024doha meeting latest update

Opening in just more than 3 weeks from now, get ready and check the latest news from 14th Georg RAJKA — ISAD 2024 Doha.
➜ Click here

Best wishes,

Alain TAÏEB
President ISAD

---

#StayInformed: