Advisor(s)
Dr. Natalie DiPietro Mager
Confirmation
1
Document Type
Poster
Location
ONU McIntosh Center; Activities Room
Start Date
11-4-2025 10:00 AM
End Date
11-4-2025 10:50 AM
Abstract
Background/Objective(s): This research aims to investigate the ability of college-age women to identify contraceptive misinformation found on the popular social media platform TikTok. TikTok is known for its ability to rapidly spread information as increasing numbers of young women use it as a source for health-related content and advice; however, previous studies have found that videos posted to TikTok about contraception health were low quality, and contained unreliable information, mainly created by non-healthcare professionals and focusing on side effects. Viewers may lack the ability to differentiate between factual information and misinformation about contraception, leading to unintended pregnancies and increasing the possibility of sexual health-related complications. Pharmacists and student pharmacists have important roles in providing accurate information and teaching patients media literacy to combat medical misinformation.
Methods: Women involved in Greek Life on the campus of a private, Midwestern university are invited to attend an educational session regarding family planning for college-age women developed and delivered by a student pharmacist and pharmacy faculty member. Before the program, participants complete an anonymous paper survey. The survey contains both factual statements and misinformation found by the student pharmacist on TikTok to assess whether college-age women can differentiate between accurate and misleading information regarding their sexual health. It also asks participants to rate how well they think they identify false information on social media. Basic demographic information is also collected. After surveys are collected, a 45-minute educational program is delivered, covering factual information about contraception and attributes that should be analyzed to determine the quality of information found online using the SIFT framework. After the session, a brief post-test is administered to assess again how well they think they identify false information on social media, collect recall information regarding the SIFT framework, and obtain participant feedback on the program. Data collected from the surveys will be analyzed via descriptive statistics to characterize the frequency of responses and chi-square tests to examine associations between selected demographic variables and responses. Alpha is set a priori at 0.05, and missing data will be excluded from the analysis. This project is deemed exempt by the Ohio Northern University Institutional Review Board.
Preliminary Results: Data collection is ongoing as of October 2024 and will be fully collected and analyzed before the conference. Results from this project will reveal respondents’ knowledge of contraception, their ability to differentiate between correct and incorrect information found on TikTok, and will provide insight on the usefulness of such an educational program to relay skills necessary to identify medical misinformation on social media.
Implications/conclusions: As medical misinformation is often readily available on social media, it is vital for college-age women to understand the impact of social media on their knowledge and future decision-making. It is hoped that this project serves to empower college-age women to question medical information found on social media while fostering the ability to find reputable information online. Pharmacists and student pharmacists can help dispel misconceptions regarding contraception and teach women how to critically evaluate information found on social media to improve contraceptive health literacy and lifelong sexual health.
Recommended Citation
Ifeakanwa, Jasmine IC and DiPietro Mager, Dr. Natalie, "Can College-Age Women Identify Contraceptive Misinformation Found on TikTok?" (2025). ONU Student Research Colloquium. 11.
https://digitalcommons.onu.edu/student_research_colloquium/2025/Posters/11
Restricted
Available to ONU community via local IP address and ONU login.
Can College-Age Women Identify Contraceptive Misinformation Found on TikTok?
ONU McIntosh Center; Activities Room
Background/Objective(s): This research aims to investigate the ability of college-age women to identify contraceptive misinformation found on the popular social media platform TikTok. TikTok is known for its ability to rapidly spread information as increasing numbers of young women use it as a source for health-related content and advice; however, previous studies have found that videos posted to TikTok about contraception health were low quality, and contained unreliable information, mainly created by non-healthcare professionals and focusing on side effects. Viewers may lack the ability to differentiate between factual information and misinformation about contraception, leading to unintended pregnancies and increasing the possibility of sexual health-related complications. Pharmacists and student pharmacists have important roles in providing accurate information and teaching patients media literacy to combat medical misinformation.
Methods: Women involved in Greek Life on the campus of a private, Midwestern university are invited to attend an educational session regarding family planning for college-age women developed and delivered by a student pharmacist and pharmacy faculty member. Before the program, participants complete an anonymous paper survey. The survey contains both factual statements and misinformation found by the student pharmacist on TikTok to assess whether college-age women can differentiate between accurate and misleading information regarding their sexual health. It also asks participants to rate how well they think they identify false information on social media. Basic demographic information is also collected. After surveys are collected, a 45-minute educational program is delivered, covering factual information about contraception and attributes that should be analyzed to determine the quality of information found online using the SIFT framework. After the session, a brief post-test is administered to assess again how well they think they identify false information on social media, collect recall information regarding the SIFT framework, and obtain participant feedback on the program. Data collected from the surveys will be analyzed via descriptive statistics to characterize the frequency of responses and chi-square tests to examine associations between selected demographic variables and responses. Alpha is set a priori at 0.05, and missing data will be excluded from the analysis. This project is deemed exempt by the Ohio Northern University Institutional Review Board.
Preliminary Results: Data collection is ongoing as of October 2024 and will be fully collected and analyzed before the conference. Results from this project will reveal respondents’ knowledge of contraception, their ability to differentiate between correct and incorrect information found on TikTok, and will provide insight on the usefulness of such an educational program to relay skills necessary to identify medical misinformation on social media.
Implications/conclusions: As medical misinformation is often readily available on social media, it is vital for college-age women to understand the impact of social media on their knowledge and future decision-making. It is hoped that this project serves to empower college-age women to question medical information found on social media while fostering the ability to find reputable information online. Pharmacists and student pharmacists can help dispel misconceptions regarding contraception and teach women how to critically evaluate information found on social media to improve contraceptive health literacy and lifelong sexual health.