A new study by Canadian and U.S. researchers is shedding light on how the social media platform TikTok can be used to recruit young stem cell donors.
For the study, researchers shared an array of TikTok videos, all of which encouraged stem cell donation, with people between the ages of 17 and 35. They found that well-crafted TikToks motivated people to sign up for donation.
"TikToks increased participants' conviction to participate," researchers wrote in the paper, which was published in The Lancet Haematology . "This effect ranged in intensity, with some [participants] sharing they were more comfortable or more likely to register [for stem cell donation], and others more concretely stating they would register or donate."
Brady Park, a doctor of medicine (MD) student at the University of Toronto's Temerty Faculty of Medicine and one of the first authors of the study, says the research shows how TikTok can be implemented to increase engagement among potential stem cell donors - as well as other groups. "There's really a specific way to harness the power of TikTok to spread any public health message. Stem cell donation is just one example. This could easily be extended," said Park.
The research was funded by the Stem Cell Club , a student-led club that encourages healthy university students of diverse backgrounds to consider donating stem cells. The club aims to address racial disparities in access to matched, unrelated donors of stem cells - needed by people with diseases like leukemia or sickle cell anemia.
A collaboration involving Park and researchers at Yale University and the University of Texas, the study took place in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, when TikTok was climbing in popularity.
A total of 30 TikToks were shared with 46 participants, who then took place in focus groups to share their opinions. Participants were from diverse backgrounds and reported watching TikTok videos a median of five hours a week.
The researchers found successful videos prioritized entertainment value over educational content and avoided featuring people who "display moral superiority or exude arrogance or condescension" - intentionally or otherwise. Videos that sounded fake, unduly happy or like advertisements are also best avoided, the participants said, "as this might increase their suspicion such TikToks have 'ulterior motives,'" the researchers wrote.
TikToks with fast pacing, suspenseful build-ups and surprise endings were particularly effective, with one participant telling researchers that a video had two to three seconds to capture their attention before they scrolled away.
Participants also said they liked videos that featured people from the same demographic group as the intended audience, as well as videos that implemented the latest trends associated with Gen Z - as long as they were used in the correct context.
The results show how social media has the power to drive meaningful public engagement when executed with an understanding of audience trends and preferences - a valuable takeaway for researchers, public health organizations and government, Park said.
"[Young adults] make up such a big portion of our population, and it's very important to educate them, and meet them where they're at," he said.
The research builds on previous work published in the journal Nature , with Park as first author.
