Quality of health information on pharmaceutical products in audiovisual social media: influence of educational content
e202602010
Keywords:
DISCERN, Social media, Pharmacy, Health communication, Health educationAbstract
BACKGROUND // Audiovisual social media platforms are becoming increasingly prominent as sources of health information. Pharmacists are gaining visibility as content creators in this space; however, the quality of the information they share about pharmaceutical products remains underexplored. The objective of this paper was to assess the quality of information on medications disseminated by pharmacists on audiovisual social media platforms and to analyze the influence of educational framing and declared advertising on that quality.
METHODS // A cross-sectional observational study was conducted. A total of 755 videos were collected in March 2024 from the ten most-followed pharmacist accounts (≥1,000 followers) on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Two independent reviewers evaluated the quality using the abbreviated DISCERN scale (1-5). Educational content (yes/no) and declared advertising were coded. Robust linear regression models were applied to estimate the association between predictors and DISCERN scores.
RESULTS // Overall quality was moderate to low (mean DISCERN score: 2.43±0.40), with no significant statistical differences across platforms (p=0.327). Educational videos (28.2%) achieved higher scores (2.62±0.38) compared to non-educational ones (2.34±0.39; p<0.001). Declared advertising decreased quality scores by -0.30 points (p<0.001), with a stronger effect observed on TikTok (-0.50).
CONCLUSIONS // Educational framing consistently enhances the informational quality of pharmacist-generated content, regardless of the platform, whereas declared advertising undermines it, especially on TikTok. Promoting evidence-based micro-educational content and enforcing transparent sponsorship labeling may improve the reliability of pharmaceutical information on social media.
Downloads
References
1. We Are Social Spain. Digital 2024: 5 billones de usuarios en social media [Internet]. 2024 [consultado 10 may 2024]. Disponible en: https://wearesocial.com/es/blog/2024/01/digital-2024-5-billiones-de-usuarios-en-social-media/
2. Etta RE, Babatunde AO, Okunlola PO, Akanbi OK, Adegoroye KJ, Adepoju RA et al. The assessment of TikTok as a source of quality health information on human papillomavirus: a content analysis. Cureus. 2024;16(12):e75419.
3. Evans E, Gory LB, O’Kane A. TikTok: an opportunity for antibiotic education? Innov Pharm. 2022;13(4):4916.
4. Segado-Fernández S, Lozano-Estevan MC, Jiménez-Gómez B, Ruiz-Núñez C, Jiménez Hidalgo PJ, Fernández-Quijano I et al. Health literacy and critical lecture as key elements to detect and reply to nutrition misinformation on social media: analysis between Spanish healthcare professionals. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(1):23.
5. Organización Mundial de la Salud. Gestión de la infodemia sobre la COVID-19: promover comportamientos saludables y mitigar los daños derivados de la información incorrecta y falsa [Internet]. 2020 [consultado 12 jun 2025]. Disponible en: https://www.who.int/es/news/item/23-09-2020-managing-the-covid-19-infodemic-promoting-healthy-behaviours-and-mitigating-the-harm-from-misinformation-and-disinformation
6. Warin T. Disinformation in the digital age: impacts on democracy and strategies for mitigation. [Preprint] Social Science Research Network; 2024 [consultado 12 jun 2025]. Disponible en: https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=4995571
7. Zhao H, Fu S, Chen X. Promoting users’ intention to share online health articles on social media: the role of confirmation bias. Inf Process Manag. 2020;57(6):102354.
8. Islam MS, Sarkar T, Khan SH, Kamal AHM, Hasan SMM, Kabir A et al. COVID-19–related infodemic and its impact on public health: a global social media analysis. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2020;103(4):1621-1629.
9. Newman N, Fletcher R, Eddy K, Robertson CT, Nielsen RK. Reuters Institute digital news report 2023 [Internet]. Oxford: Reuters Institute; 2023 [consultado 12 jun 2025]. Disponible en: https://www.digitalnewsreport.org/
10. Chan TM, Dzara K, Dimeo SP, Bhalerao A, Maggio LA. Social media in knowledge translation and education for physicians and trainees: a scoping review. Perspect Med Educ. 2020;9(1):20-30.
11. Hermansyah A, Sukorini AI, Asmani F, Suwito KA, Rahayu TP. The contemporary role and potential of pharmacist contribution for community health using social media. J Basic Clin Physiol Pharmacol. 2019;30(6):20190329.
12. Almontashiri MH, Alenazi SM, Al-Hemerin MJ, Alqurashi SM, Alyamani IM, Alshehri AA et al. The evolving role of pharmacists in healthcare: a systematic review of clinical, community, and digital health interventions. Afr J Biomed Res. 2024;27(3):1085-1091.
13. Nwokedi CN, Olowe KJ, Alli OI, Iguma DR. The role of digital health in modern pharmacy: a review of emerging trends and patient impacts. International Journal of Science and Research Archive. 2025;14(1):1445-1455. doi: https://doi.org/10.30574/ijsra.2025.14.1.0228
14. Wahab HFA, Zulfakar MH, Islahudin FH. Pharmacist in media: role in healthcare and public perception. Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia. 2021;19(1):161-170.
15. Benetoli A, Chen TF, Schaefer M, Chaar BB, Aslani P. Professional use of social media by pharmacists: a qualitative study. J Med Internet Res. 2016;18(9):e258.
16. Vicioso C, Jain C, Balachandran U, Smolarsky R, Wong L, Valdivia L et al. TikTok and orthopaedic education: engaging the next generation of patients. JAAOS Glob Res Rev. En prensa 2025.
17. Chou WYS, Gaysynsky A, Vanderpool RC. The COVID-19 misinfodemic: moving beyond fact-checking. Health Educ Behav. 2021;48(1):9-13.
18. Von Elm E, Altman DG, Egger M, Pocock SJ, Gøtzsche PC, Vandenbroucke JP et al. The strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (STROBE) statement: guidelines for reporting observational studies. Lancet. 2007;370(9596):1453-1457.
19. British Psychological Society. Ethics guidelines for internet-mediated research [Internet]. Leicester: The Society; 2021 [consultado 28 may 2025]. Disponible en: https://www.bps.org.uk/guideline/ethics-guidelines-internet-mediated-research
20. Ahmed W, Vidal-Alaball J, Downing J, Seguí FL. COVID-19 and the 5G conspiracy theory: social network analysis of Twitter data. J Med Internet Res. 2020;22(5):e19458.
21. Ouvrein G, Pabian S, Giles DC, Hudders L, De Backer C. The web of influencers: a marketing-audience classification of (potential) social media influencers. J Mark Manag. 2021;37(13-14):1343-1368.
22. Charnock D, Shepperd S, Needham G, Gann R. DISCERN: an instrument for judging the quality of written consumer health information on treatment choices. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1999;53(2):105-111.
23. Ooi KB, Lee VH, Hew JJ, Leong LY, Tan GWH, Lim AF. Social media influencers: an effective marketing approach? J Bus Res. 2023;160:113785.
24. Berman R, Öry A, Zheng X. Influence or advertising: the role of social learning in influencer marketing. Cowles Foundation discussion paper. 2023.
25. Van Dam S, Van Reijmersdal E. Insights in adolescents’ advertising literacy, perceptions and responses regarding sponsored influencer videos and disclosures. Cyberpsychology. 2019;13(2):article 2.
26. Cinelli M, De Francisci Morales G, Galeazzi A, Quattrociocchi W, Starnini M. The echo chamber effect on social media. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021;118(9):e2023301118.
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Rocío Romeral Cortina, Beatriz Jiménez Gómez, Carlos Antonio Ruiz Núñez, Mª del Carmen Lozano Estevan, Iván Herrera Peco
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Usted es libre de:
Compartir — copiar y redistribuir el material en cualquier medio o formato.
La licenciante no puede revocar estas libertades en tanto usted siga los términos de la licencia.
Bajo los siguientes términos:
Atribución — Usted debe dar crédito de manera adecuada , brindar un enlace a la licencia, e indicar si se han realizado cambios. Puede hacerlo en cualquier forma razonable, pero no de forma tal que sugiera que usted o su uso tienen el apoyo de la licenciante.
NoComercial — Usted no puede hacer uso del material con propósitos comerciales.
SinDerivadas — Si remezcla, transforma o crea a partir del material, no podrá distribuir el material modificado.
No hay restricciones adicionales — No puede aplicar términos legales ni medidas tecnológicas que restrinjan legalmente a otras a hacer cualquier uso permitido por la licencia.
Avisos:
No tiene que cumplir con la licencia para elementos del material en el dominio público o cuando su uso esté permitido por una excepción o limitación aplicable.
No se dan garantías. La licencia podría no darle todos los permisos que necesita para el uso que tenga previsto. Por ejemplo, otros derechos como publicidad, privacidad, o derechos morales pueden limitar la forma en que utilice el material.
![¿Cómo evaluar para la RESP? [PARA REVISORES]](https://ojs.sanidad.gob.es/public/site/images/rmartinb/pastilla-revisores-0eaa113abcbc4fc554c7c6c7840ca4c6.jpg)
![¿Cómo recibir avisos sobre nuevos artículos de la RESP? [PARA LECTORES]](https://ojs.sanidad.gob.es/public/site/images/rmartinb/pastilla-lectores-aa689338e95aab07df45b4b0d583188f.jpg)
