The quality and reliability of herpes zoster information on TikTok and Bilibili: A cross-sectional study

Objective Herpes zoster (HZ) is a common viral skin disease. As short video platforms have become an important source of health information, evaluating the quality of HZ-related content is increasingly important. Methods This cross-sectional study analyzed 186 HZ-related videos collected from the Chinese short video platforms TikTok (n = 96) and Bilibili (n = 90) from 12 to 16 July 2025. Video characteristics (duration, likes, shares, comments, and collections), content domains (etiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis), and uploader identity were recorded. Quality was evaluated using the Global Quality Score (GQS) and modified DISCERN (mDISCERN). Results TikTok videos had shorter durations (47.5 vs.196.0 seconds) but significantly higher engagement metrics, including likes (481.5 vs. 29.5), comments (20.5 vs. 3.5), and shares (152.5 vs. 19.0). Most videos were uploaded by pain medicine specialists (31.72%), followed by traditional Chinese medicine physicians (27.96%) and dermatologists (19.35%). Treatment was the most frequently addressed topic (67.74%), whereas prognosis was least discussed (18.28%). The median GQS was 2.00 (interquartile range (IQR): 1.00–3.00) and the mDISCERN score was 3.00 (IQR 1.00–3.00). Dermatologists achieved higher GQS and mDISCERN scores than patients and traditional Chinese medicine physicians (p < 0.05). No significant correlations were observed between engagement metrics and GQS scores (p > 0.05). Conclusions HZ-related videos on short video platforms are of moderate quality and skewed toward treatment. Dermatologists involvement and better content regulation are needed. More emphasis should be placed on prognosis education to enhance public understanding.