Dr. Tabakin on providing accurate information on third-line OAB treatments

In this video, Alexandra Tabakin, MD, shares the take-home message from the Urogynecology paper, “Third-Line Overactive Bladder Therapies on TikTok: What Does the Public Learn.” Tabakin is a fellow in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Great Neck, New York.

Transcription:

What can clinicians do to provide high-quality, accurate information about third-line treatments for OAB for patients?

Our study really highlights the fact that there is significant misinformation present on TikTok, specifically when it comes to third-line therapies for overactive bladder. And it's really important for clinicians to be aware that their patients are using social media for their health care information, and it may even affect their decision-making. So rather than have patients just avoiding social media, you may want to actually consider using it in your patient education. There are a few ways that you can do that. Clinicians can either create their own content, and you can do this by creating your own professional account. Some people may choose to post content on their personal websites, or some people even go through their own hospital or health care networks/social media accounts. And if you don't want to make your own content, it definitely may be helpful to just peruse what's already out there and see what really speaks to you and your patients, find out what's accurate, and then share it with your patients.

What is the take-home message for the practicing urologist?

I would say that the biggest take-home is that many of our patients are using social media for their health care information, and this may influence their preferences [and] their decision-making. For some patients, social media may even be their preferred method of learning. So urologists really do need to understand how their patients are consuming health care information and provide patients with resources that are appropriate [and] accurate, and some of those may include social media resources.

This transcription was edited for clarity.