Doctors offer sex education, health advice on TikTok

Doctors are making efforts to break myths surrounding sex and spread awareness on reproductive health and rights by giving free medical advice on TikTok.

According to licensed physician Dr. Winston Kilimanjaro Tiwaque, he wants to use the platform to educate people and clear misconceptions.

“It’s a great venue for you to express yourself, your talents and your advocacy so for me, it’s health education, preventive medicine and mental health awareness,” he said on Thursday’s episode of “Brigada” with Kara David.

“I can’t believe that there are still questions (that have no basis) so being in the profession and being that I learned about it, let’s use this platform for something good,” he added.

As of writing, Dr. Winston has more than two million TikTok followers, with whom he shares advice on medical concerns, including reproductive health.

“Sabi nga ng ibang babae ‘hala, nakakahiya naman,’ and I’m like ‘no, there’s nothing wrong with that.’ Okay lang naman na pag-usapan namin kasi we also learn about it naman kahit na lalaki kami sa profession,” said the doctor.

“We, as the professionals in healthcare, need to start that conversation and we need to make it look like it’s something that’s okay to be talked about and it’s something that should start din at home,” he added.

@dockilimanguru

Ayoko na talaga. Charot! ???? ##LearnOnTiktok ##TiktokSkwela

? original sound - Dr. Kilimanguru

Known as the “CEO of char” on TikTok, Dr. Winston makes sure to keep his posts fun and entertaining to keep his viewers engaged.

“I wanted to find ways to make sure that engaged sila, na masaya sila na pinapanood ako para at the same time, mawawala rin yung misconception na seryoso palagi ang mga doctor, na nakakatakot sila,” he said.

Dr. Krizzle Hannah Santos, meanwhile, said some Filipinos had limited knowledge on sex and reproductive health so she also wanted to help disseminate correct information.

“Kulang po talaga tayo sa awareness regarding sex education kaya do’n po ako nagsimula paonti-unti mag-post ng mga about reproductive health po,” she said.

According to Dr. Krizzle, she includes a disclaimer on her posts to avoid backlash and offensive comments.

“Before ako mag-post, maglalagay ako ng comment na ’yung video ko is for educational purposes lang. Hindi siya for anything na kabastos-bastos,” she said.

She also emphasized that posting such content didn’t mean she encouraged young people to engage in sexual activities.

@lunakrizzle

Kelang ba lumuluwang ang "V" ??? ##learnontiktok ##tiktokskwela ##learnfromkrizzy ##healthtokph

? original sound - Krizzle Luna

“Hindi po para ma-provoke ’yung mga bata na gawin ito nang maaga kasi po the more na may alam tayo, the more na mas magiging responsable po tayo sa mga gagawin natin and mas alam natin ’yung mga consequences,” she said.

To ensure that users get reliable information, TikTok includes relevant hashtags on posts.

“Meron kang mga fun creative videos, ’yung mga sumasayaw na creator. At the same time, you also have creators who put up educational content kung saan hindi ka lang matututo, maaaliw ka rin,” said Kristoffer Rada, TikTok head for public policy.

With the continuous rise of teenage pregnancies, psychologist and sex educator Dr. Rica Cruz said the lack of knowledge on sex was a big factor.

“’Yung pagiging conservative ng mga tao, ’yun ’yung naghi-hinder sa kanila to talk about sex or to look for proper information about sex,” she said.

“Tanggalin niyo ’yung malisya and stick with the science of it. Meron ding mga resources na age appropriate sa sex education na pwedeng basahin,” she added.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, 62,341 women aged 15 and below got pregnant in 2018. In 2019, the total number was at 62,510.

Meanwhile, the youngest pregnancy recorded by Commission on Population was nine years old. – Franchesca Viernes/RC, GMA News