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BackgroundExperiencing a traumatic event can significantly impact mental and emotional well-being. Social media platforms offer spaces for sharing stories, seeking support, and accessing psychoeducation. TikTok (ByteDance), a rapidly growing social media platform, is increasingly used for advice, validation, and information, although the content of this requires further study. Research is particularly needed to better understand TikTok content relating to trauma and the potential implications for young viewers, considering the distressing nature of the subject and the possibility of users experiencing vicarious trauma through exposure to these videos. ObjectiveThis study aims to explore the content of trauma-related videos on TikTok, focusing on hashtags related to trauma. Specifically, this study analyzes how TikTok videos present information, advice, stories, and support relating to trauma. MethodsA quantitative cross-sectional descriptive content analysis was performed on TikTok in December 2022. A total of 5 hashtags related to trauma were selected: #trauma, #traumatized, #traumatok, #traumatic, and #traumabond, with the top 50 videos from each hashtag analyzed (total N=250 videos). A standardized codebook was developed inductively to analyze the content of the videos, while an existing generic codebook was used to collect the video features (eg, age of people in the video) and metadata (likes, comments, and shares) for each video. ResultsA total of 2 major content themes were identified, which were instructional videos (54/250, 21.6%) and videos disclosing personal stories (168/250, 67.3%). The videos garnered significant engagement, with a total of 296.6 million likes, 2.3 million comments, and 4.6 million shares, indicating that users find this content engaging and useful. Alarmingly, only 3.7% (9/250) of videos included a trigger warning, despite many featuring highly distressing stories that young people and those with trauma may be exposed to. ConclusionsThe study highlights the potential risks of vicarious trauma due to trauma dumping without trigger warnings on TikTok, and the need for further research to assess the accuracy of advice and information in these videos. However, it also underscores the platform’s potential to foster social connections, provide validation, and reduce stigma around mental health issues. Public health professionals should leverage social media to disseminate accurate mental health information, while promoting user education and content moderation to mitigate potential harms. People often use social media, such as TikTok to share advice, stories, and support around mental health, including their experiences with trauma. Out of 250 videos, most were either giving advice (54/250, 21.6%) or sharing personal experiences (168/250, 67.3%). The study found many videos lacked warnings about upsetting content, which could potentially harm young viewers or people suffering from trauma. While TikTok can help people feel connected and reduce the stigma around mental health, it is important to seek support from professionals when needed.

Abstract Objective: To investigate how dieting is portrayed on TikTok and the potential implications for public health considering the effect of diet culture on eating disorders amongst young people. Design: A cross-sectional descriptive content analysis of 250 videos from the five most popular diet-related hashtags. A codebook was developed to analyse the content of the videos and collect the engagement for each video (likes, comments and shares). Setting: TikTok website. Participants: There were no participants in this study. Results: More than half of the videos portrayed ‘body checking’, a potentially harmful practice for body image. Of the videos that represented body image, almost half represented body image negatively. However, most videos promoted the idea of ‘healthy eating’, and only 6·4 % displayed disordered eating behaviours. Over half of the videos provided dietary advice, and of those videos, most content creators claimed to be experts (64 %). Claiming expertise was not significantly associated with engagement; however, the use of humour was significantly associated with engagement. Additionally, males were more likely than females to disclose their goals of the diet. Conclusions: Overall, it appears that TikTok is commonly used to share nutrition tips and personal experiences around dieting and eating in general, often employing humour as an effective technique. The popularity of the platform and rapid dissemination of information would be a useful tool for health professionals, especially those working with eating disorders, to utilise.

BackgroundOne of the most traumatic injuries a child can experience is a severe burn. Despite improvements in medical treatments which have led to better physical outcomes and reduced mortality rates for paediatric burns patients, the psychological impact associated with experiencing such a traumatic injury has mostly been overlooked. This is concerning given the high incidence of psychopathology amongst paediatric burn survivors.ObjectivesThis project will aim to pilot test and evaluate a co-designed trauma-focused intervention to support resilience and promote positive mental health in children and adolescents who have sustained an acute burn injury. Our first objective is to collect pilot data to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention and to inform the design of future trauma-focussed interventions. Our second objective is to collect pilot data to determine the appropriateness of the developed intervention by investigating the changes in mental health indicators pre- and post-intervention. This will inform the design of future interventions.MethodsThis pilot intervention study will recruit 40 children aged between 6-17 years who have sustained an acute burn injury and their respective caregivers. These participants will have attended the Stan Perron Centre of Excellence for Childhood Burns at Perth Children's Hospital. Participants will attend a 45-minute weekly or fortnightly session for six weeks that involves building skills around information gathering, managing reactions (behaviours and thoughts), identifying, and bolstering coping skills, problem solving and preventing setbacks. The potential effects and feasibility of our intervention will be assessed through a range of age-appropriate screening measures which will assess social behaviours, personal qualities, mental health and/or resilience. Assessments will be administered at baseline, immediately post-intervention, at 6- and 12-months post-intervention.ConclusionThe results of this study will lay the foundation for an evidence-based, trauma-informed approach to clinical care for paediatric burn survivors and their families in Western Australia. This will have important implications for the design of future support offered to children with and beyond burn injuries, and other medical trauma populations.

Abstract Background Advances in medicine have improved the chances of survival following burn injuries, however, psychosocial outcomes have not seen the same improvement, and burn injuries can be distressing for both the child or young person, negatively affecting their wellbeing. Pediatric burn patients are at a higher risk of developing psychopathology compared to the general population. In order to promote resilience and prevent psychopathology post-burn injury for pediatric burn patients, it is crucial to understand the experience of children and young people after a burn. This study aimed to understand the psychosocial impact that a pediatric burn has as perceived by the pediatric burn patient. Methods Seven pediatric burn patients were interviewed from the Perth Metropolitan area on average 3.1 years after their injury. All participants had been admitted to hospital for their acute injury and stayed for a median length of 2 days in hospital. Interviews with pediatric patients took place online, and the patients were asked about their mental health, coping strategies, changes to lifestyle and supports following their burn injury. The interviews were transcribed and then thematically analysed using an inductive approach. Results Three overarching themes were developed from the interviews: burn-specific impact on the child or young person (including appearance concerns, family factors, and lifestyle factors), the psychological impact (including positive and negative impact on mental health), and factors supporting the recovery journey (including coping strategies and support services). The participants in our study highlighted issues they faced during recovery, the positive and negative impacts of the injury and recovery process and provided suggestions for future opportunities to bolster resilience and promote growth for pediatric burn patients who may face similar challenges in the future. Conclusion Factors that improve the mental health and wellbeing of pediatric burn patients should be promoted, such as mental health and social supports, the promotion of adaptive coping mechanisms, and meeting the needs of the family unit as a whole. Ultimately, the implementation of trauma-focused, family centred interventions is crucial for the psychosocial recovery of pediatric burn survivors.

The social media application TikTok allows users to view and upload short-form videos. Recent evidence suggests it has significant potential for both industry and health promoters to influence public health behaviours. This protocol describes a standardised, replicable process for investigations that can be tailored to various areas of research interest, allowing comparison of content and features across public health topics. The first 50 appearing videos in each of five relevant hashtags are sampled for analysis. Utilising a codebook with detailed definitions, engagement metadata and content variables applicable to any content area is captured, including an assessment of the video’s overall sentiment (positive, negative, neutral). Additional specific coding variables can be developed to provide targeted information about videos posted within selected hashtags. A descriptive, cross-sectional content analysis is applied to the generic and specific data collected for a research topic area. This flexible protocol can be replicated for any health-related topic and may have a wider application on other platforms or to assess changes in content and sentiment over time. This protocol was developed by a collaborative team of child health and development researchers for application to a series of topics. Findings will be used to inform health promotion messaging and counter-advertising.

Abstract Background Early childhood caries disproportionately affects vulnerable groups and remains a leading cause of preventable hospital admissions for Western Australian children. The Western Australia State Oral Health Plan seeks to improve child oral health through universal and targeted health promotion initiatives with primary caregivers. These initiatives require evidence of primary caregiver oral health knowledge and behaviours and baseline data on early childhood caries. The objective of this systematic scoping review was to understand current oral health knowledge and practices of primary caregivers of children aged 0–4 years, identify influential socioecological determinants, and identify data on early childhood caries in the Western Australian context. Methods A systematic scoping review framework identified articles published between 2010 and 2021, using Scopus, PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, selected article reference lists, and oral health websites. The lack of Western Australian specific literature prompted the inclusion of Australia-wide articles. Articles were screened via author consensus, with eight selected. Results Western Australia and nation-wide data on early childhood caries are limited and mostly dated. WA data from children aged 2–3 years, collected in 2006, suggests the prevalence is 2.9% in this state, with national data of children from 0 to 3 years, collected from 2006 and 2008, suggesting an early childhood caries prevalence of 3.4–8% of children aged 18 months, rising sharply by 36 months of age. Nationally, fewer than half the primary caregivers reported following evidence-based oral health recommendations for their young children. Perceptions of the role of dental services for young children tends to be focussed on treatment, rather than surveillance and prevention. Knowledge of dietary and oral hygiene practices is inconsistent and awareness of the Child Dental Benefit Schedule low. Young children’s oral health status is clearly associated with socioecological factors, including socioeconomic status. Conclusions Recent early childhood caries data and evidence of primary care-givers’ oral health knowledge and behaviours are unavailable in Western Australia, a similar situation exists nationwide. To realise the Western Australian and National Oral Health Plans, research is required to address this knowledge gap.