Abstract
A significant research gap exists in evaluating the prevalence and quality of Chinese videos depicting CP on domestic social media platforms. In contrast to studies that focus on online video content concerning CP on YouTube, CP videos on YouTube are largely inaccessible to average citizens in mainland China. This disparity underscores the need for further investigation into the availability and nature of CP videos specifically on Chinese social media platforms. To assess the reliability and quality of short videos related to cerebral palsy (CP) on Chinese social media platforms. The present cross-sectional study examined 344 videos about CP from popular Chinese social media platforms, including TikTok, Kwai, Weibo, Bilibili, and RED. The analysis of these videos involved a detailed assessment of their sources, content, and characteristics. Additionally, quantitative scoring tools such as journal of the American medical association (JAMA) benchmarks, gobal quality score (GQS), and DISCERN were utilized to evaluate video quality. Furthermore, the potential relationship between video quality and various attributes such as duration, number of likes, and comments was explored and their impact on the quality of information presented in the videos was analyzed. The average duration of the 344 videos was 92.12 s (SD 105.69). CP rehabilitation training videos comprised 45.64% of the total, followed by expert-contributed videos at 40.70%. Mean scores for JAMA, GQS, and DISCERN were 1.62 (SD 0.60), 2.05 (SD 0.99), and 1.26 (SD 1.26) respectively. RED had the lowest average scores. Videos focusing on disease knowledge scored highest on JAMA and GQS scales. Experts achieved significantly higher GQS and DISCERN scores compared to health-related institutions and amateurs. Spearman correlation analysis revealed a strong positive correlation between likes and comments (r = .0.87, P < .0.001). Enhancing the management of medical content is crucial to address the compromised reliability of Chinese online short videos providing information to families of CP patients. Improving content professionalism and accuracy ensures users access genuinely valuable information.