Like millions of different users, Jenny Wu, a existent aesculapian nonmigratory successful the section of obstetrics and gynecology astatine Duke's School of Medicine, joined TikTok astatine the commencement of the pandemic. Unlike millions of different users, Wu took the contented TikTok’s algorithm recommended to her and turned it into a study.
Wu, School of Medicine ‘21, said that arsenic a millennial, she got videos targeted astatine reproductive-aged women. In these videos, users described achy experiences with IUDs, oregon intrauterine devices, a benignant of commencement control.
Now astatine implicit 1.4 cardinal views successful the past respective months, the trending hashtag #IUD has allowed TikTok to emergence arsenic a level for women to stock their experiences with IUD insertion, removal and wide usage.
But erstwhile Wu work the comments connected these videos, she recovered “a batch of distrust that radical consciousness toward their wellness attraction professionals.”
“I'm an OB-GYN resident, and I bash spot a batch of IUDs for patients. And I deliberation it's a truly large signifier of commencement control,” Wu said. “There was this large disconnect betwixt what I urge to a diligent coming successful who is not funny successful having a gestation successful the adjacent fewer years, who wants a signifier of agelong acting, reversible commencement control, and what I was seeing connected TikTok of patients who truly expressed a batch of pain, a batch of distrust, a batch of misinformation astir it.”
So Wu decided to instrumentality a deeper look astatine these videos.
The study, precocious published successful “Obstetrics and Gynecology,” utilized a web-scraping exertion to compile the apical 100 astir viewed TikToks that had the hashtag #IUD. The apical videos were past coded by Megan Happ, School of Medicine ‘25, according to a predetermined scoring system. The parameters considered the fig of views, if the creator was a healthcare professional, the accuracy of the accusation and the code arsenic either “positive, negative, neutral oregon ambiguous.”
Happ said different absorption was whether oregon not the video had an “explicit notation of distrust.”
Wu, Happ and the probe squad recovered that an overwhelming magnitude of the videos portrayed a antagonistic acquisition with IUDs. The results showed that implicit 1 3rd of the apical videos had a wide antagonistic tone, implicit 1 4th contained mistrust of healthcare professionals and astir 1 4th of each analyzed videos contained inaccurate technological claims.
“I deliberation that this survey connected a larger standard quantifies the fig of radical that person feelings of distrust, oregon that they did not get the accusation that they needed to consciousness similar they made an informed prime for their wellness and their body,” Happ said.
“With respect to IUDs successful general, and contraceptive acquisition successful reproductive health, we are not gathering the needs close present of a important information of patients and adequately educating and preparing them for the experience,” Happ continued.
Happ said she feels that it is unsurprising that patients volition question their doctors’ claims if they are seeing contradictory accusation connected the internet.
“As wellness attraction providers … we person a work to perceive to that and to cognize that our patients are coming successful with those concerns,” Happ said.
Although galore reproductive healthcare advocates talk highly of IUDs, and Planned Parenthood says it is “one of the champion commencement power methods retired there,” the videos with antagonistic tones pull the astir viewership.
“There aren't a batch of radical who speech astir however large their IUD is,” Wu said.
As a effect of being presented with lone the worst experiences with IUD insertion and removal, galore patients whitethorn beryllium fearful and deficiency the knowing that the acquisition whitethorn not beryllium the aforesaid for everyone.
Wu recovered that galore users’ videos had an underlying taxable that “their symptom was not adequately controlled.”
The survey and its findings person changed the mode Wu practices. She present preemptively offers patients symptom absorption and explains that an IUD tin beryllium achy for immoderate people.
“Getting seen by your OB-GYN shouldn't beryllium a traumatic experience,” Wu said.
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Audrey Patterson | Staff Reporter
Audrey Patterson is simply a Trinity first-year and a unit newsman of The Chronicle's 118th volume.
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