Pediatric Seizure First-Aid Content on Social Media: Accuracy, Educational Quality, and Engagement Across Platforms.
Other Scholarly Work
De Faria Sousa, Beatriz, Imran, Manal, Reyes, Richard et al. (2026). Pediatric Seizure First-Aid Content on Social Media: Accuracy, Educational Quality, and Engagement Across Platforms.
. JOURNAL OF CHILD NEUROLOGY, 8830738261472020. 10.1177/08830738261472020
De Faria Sousa, Beatriz, Imran, Manal, Reyes, Richard et al. (2026). Pediatric Seizure First-Aid Content on Social Media: Accuracy, Educational Quality, and Engagement Across Platforms.
. JOURNAL OF CHILD NEUROLOGY, 8830738261472020. 10.1177/08830738261472020
Caregivers frequently turn to social media for pediatric seizure guidance, yet it remains unclear whether high-reach content aligns with established first-aid recommendations. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 150 high-view seizure-related videos across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube (50 per platform). Videos were coded for creator type, accuracy, emergency department (ED)/911 guidance, and Global Quality Score (0-5). Overall accuracy was high (88.7%); however, only 49.3% included ED/911 guidance. Educational quality differed by creator type (F = 6.15, P < .001), with Health Care Professional videos demonstrating higher Global Quality Scores than Parent/Caregiver and Influencer content. Parent/Caregiver videos achieved the highest mean views (2.88 million), although median engagement was substantially lower than that of Health Care Professional and Health Organization videos, indicating that the higher mean reach was driven by a small number of viral caregiver posts rather than consistently higher engagement. Accuracy and quality were not independently associated with views. These findings suggest that engagement dynamics, rather than educational completeness, drive reach, underscoring the importance of clinician presence in digital seizure education.
