ABSTRACT
Introduction Social media is ubiquitous in adolescents' lives. TikTok is a medium primarily used by adolescents and young adults under 30 years. TikTok is thus an appropriate social media platform with which to examine discussions of anxiety among this age cohort. In this exploratory mixed-methods study we aimed to evaluate the scope of anxiety content available on TikTok in English in December 2021, and to further develop methods for analysing TikTok content. Methods We analysed a data set of 147 TikToks with the hashtag #anxiety. The data set consisted both of metadata and TikTok videos. This data set represented 18% of all TikToks featuring the hashtag #anxiety in December 2021. We examined the following research questions (RQs). RQ1: What are the creator identities reflected in the final data set in this study?; RQ2: What are the metadata characteristics of the TikToks in the final data set?; RQ3: What are the anxiety content themes in the final data set?; and RQ4: What are the characteristics of the data set based on an anxiety management reference checklist? This study involves public data that can reasonably be observed by strangers. This study does not include any identifiable human participants. Results Influencers were the most frequent creator identity in our data set. Influencers comprised 85.5% of the 147 TikToks in our final data set. We coded 79 female (54%) and 45 male (31%) influencers. We found male influencers created the most played (mean 8,114,706), and most liked (mean 1,510,585) TikToks. We found content themes varied by influencer gender. The notable findings were (a) the greater use of humour by males (22.7% males; n=10, and females 12.6%; n=10); and (b) inspiration (38.7%; males n=17; and 13.9%; females n=11). Among female influencers, we identified self-disclosure as the most common theme (n= 40 and 50.7% compared with n=11 and 25% male influencers). Overall, we found limited references to evidence-based anxiety self-care content in our final data set. Discussion We suggest that the TikToks in our data set were primarily directed at raising awareness of and de-stigmatising anxiety symptoms. TikTok anxiety content may be viewed by adolescents for emotional self-regulation beyond evidence-based health information seeking. Self-disclosure on TikTok may also provide symptomatic relief to adolescents with anxiety. We suggest that gender is a salient consideration when considering TikTok content. Conclusions Our findings are consistent with existing literature on adolescent social media use and epidemiological data on anxiety. This research also provides methodological insights for researchers and clinicians seeking to understand TikTok, and to develop engaging content targeted at the specific concerns and preferences of adolescent TikTok consumers.
ABSTRACT
Digital transformation impacts health care through technology. Telepharmacy is set to become one of the most important aspects of Telemedicine in the years to come with its ability to provide patients with increased and more timely access to pharmaceutical care, reduced costs for individuals and health systems, improved patient satisfaction, experience and convenience, and better health outcomes. Telepharmacy has gained increasing importance in the delivery of pharmaceutical care, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has placed enormous pressures on healthcare systems globally. There is a significant amount of published literature from different countries around the world that provide examples of Telepharmacy. There are some innovative models of Telepharmacy services aimed at optimizing and improving access to pharmaceutical care, resulting in improved patient safety and outcomes. The benefits of Telepharmacy include increased value for pharmacies and pharmacists and adapting to patients´ needs, enhanced interprofessional care and increased efficiency of health systems and increased provision of patient- centred services, among others. However, despite these benefits, major barriers for implementation of Telepharmacy remain such as patient confidentiality and privacy of health information. These barriers to the implementation of Telepharmacy have been identified and can be divided into four different environments: technological, organizational, human and economic. Delivering pharmaceutical care and services through digital media is identified as a key priority for the International Pharmaceutical Federation. Digital health is one of the 21 Development Goals launched by International Pharmaceutical Federation in 2020. The International Pharmaceutical Federation Digital Health in Pharmacy Education report in 2021, describes the readiness, adaptability and responsiveness of pharmacy education and knowledge and skill needs of pharmaceutical workforce on digital health. Amongst other digital health tools, telehealth/Telepharmacy has been reported as one of the most preferred tools to teach and learn about by respondents.
La tecnología surgida de la transformación digital ha traído consigo cambios en la asistencia sanitaria. En los próximos años, la Telefarmacia previsiblemente se convertirá en uno de los aspectos más importantes de la Telemedicina, ya que ofrece a los pacientes un acceso más inmediato a la atención farmacéutica, supone una reducción de costes tanto para los pacientes como para los sistemas sanitarios, y deriva en una mayor satisfacción, experiencia y comodidad de los pacientes, mejorando así los resultados clínicos. Debido en gran medida a la pandemia de COVID19, la Telefarmacia ha adquirido gran importancia en el ámbito de la atención farmacéutica, ya que esta crisis ha provocado una enorme presión sobre los sistemas sanitarios de todo el mundo. Se pueden encontrar multitud de experiencias publicadas en la literatura científica sobre modelos de Telefarmacia en diferentes países del mundo. Existen algunos modelos innovadores de servicios de Telefarmacia orientados a optimizar y mejorar el acceso a la atención farmacéutica, lo que se traduce en una mejora de la seguridad y los resultados de los pacientes. Entre las ventajas de la Telefarmacia se incluye el aumento del valor para las farmacias y los farmacéuticos y la adaptación a las necesidades de los pacientes, la mejora de la atención interprofesional, el aumento de la eficiencia de los sistemas sanitarios y la mayor prestación de servicios centrados en el paciente, entre otras. Sin embargo, a pesar de presentar múltiples ventajas, siguen existiendo importantes barreras para la implantación de la Telefarmacia, como la confidencialidad del paciente y la privacidad de la información clínica. Estas barreras para la implantación de la Telefarmacia pueden dividirse en cuatro ámbitos: tecnológico, organizativo, humano y económico. La prestación de atención y servicios farmacéuticos a través de medios digitales es una prioridad clave de la Federación Internacional Farmacéutica. La salud digital es uno de los 21 Objetivos de Desarrollo lanzados por la Federación Internacional Farmacéutica en 2020. El informe de la Federación Internacional Farmacéutica sobre salud digital en la formación farmacéutica en 2021 describe la preparación, adaptabilidad y capacidad de respuesta de la formación farmacéutica y las necesidades de conocimientos y habilidades de los farmacéuticos sobre la salud digital. Entre otras herramientas de salud digital, la Telemedicina/Telefarmacia ha sido señalada como una de las herramientas preferidas por los encuestados para formar y aprender.