INFORMATION AND HEALTH ON TIKTOK

THE ROLE OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH

Authors

Keywords:

health information and promotion, social media, Ministry of Healthh, TikTok

Abstract

This study analyzes the posts published by the Ministry of Health of Brazil on TikTok from January 2025 to April 2026 to identify the characteristics of its informational approach to health-related topics across various dimensions. The posts were subjected to Categorical Content Analysis across four themes: "Vaccine", "Tackling Misinformation", "Disease", and "SUS". Additionally, the Reading Contract and Communication Contract methodologies were integrated to evaluate how the institution framed its content to promote the right to health. The findings reveal that the Ministry prioritized delivering reliable health information over directly refuting misinformation. As a result, the most frequent theme was "SUS" (51%), followed by "Disease" (27%), "Vaccine" (18%), and "Tackling Misinformation" (4%). Discursively, the content predominantly adopted the role of a "pedagogical enunciator" (77.49%) with a primary focus on health literacy (72.05%). The communication structure utilized an explanatory approach to clarify the scope of SUS, disease management, treatment, and prevention.  Overall, the institution aligned its digital communication strategy to enhance health literacy and guide citizens toward health-preserving behaviors.

Author Biographies

  • Carmen Lúcia Costa Brotas, Federal University of Bahia

    Ph.D. Candidate in Information Science at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA). Holds a Master's degree in Law from UFBA (2010), a post-graduate specialization in Public Law from UFBA, a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the Catholic University of Salvador (2004), and a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from the Visconde de Cairu Foundation (1998). Member of the research groups COMPORTI/UFBA (Literacy and Behavior: Production, Innovation, and Communication Processes of Information) and LTI/UFBA (Laboratory of Information Technologies and Sociodigital Inclusion). She serves as a public officer at the Regional Electoral Court (TRE-BA), where she has worked as a legal advisor to an Electoral Court Judge and the Court’s Director-General, as well as in the Technical Analysis Coordination Office reviewing administrative processes. She is currently a Visiting Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Coimbra (Portugal).

  • Antonio Marcos Pereira Brotas, Gonçalo Moniz Institute

    Holds a CNPq Research Productivity Fellowship, a Ph.D. in Culture and Society from the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), a Master’s degree in Contemporary Communication and Culture from UFBA, and completed postdoctoral research in the Graduate Program in Science, Technology, and Health Outreach at the Oswaldo Cruz House (COC/Fiocruz). He is currently a Public Health Technologist at the Gonçalo Moniz Institute (IGM - Fiocruz Bahia), a journalist, a communication advisor, and permanent faculty in the Master’s Program in Science, Technology, and Health Outreach (COC/Fiocruz) and the Multidisciplinary Graduate Program in Culture and Society (Pós-Cultura/UFBA). He is also a researcher at the Laboratory for Investigation in Global Health and Neglected Diseases (LISD). He coordinates the project Rede Interdisciplinar Ciências, Tecnologias, Inovação nos Territórios Escolares (Interdisciplinary Science, Technologies, and Innovation Network in School Contexts - Mais Ciência na Escola in Bahia). He holds a Category C CNPq Research Productivity Fellowship. He has teaching and professional experience in Communication and Science Communication, with an emphasis on Journalism and Digital Communication, focusing mainly on: science popularization, science journalism, social media, science education, health communication, scientific culture, social technologies, and media framing.

Downloads

Published

2026-11-13

Conference Proceedings Volume

2026: XXVI ENCONTRO NACIONAL DE PESQUISA E PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO EM CIÊNCIA DA INFORMAÇÃO

Section

GT 11 – Informação & Saúde

Categories