Health Care Professional and Caregiver Attitudes Toward and Usage of Medical Podcasting: Questionnaire Study

Background: Podcasts are used increasingly in medicine. There is growing research into the role of podcasts in medical education, but the use of podcasting as a tool for pediatric parent/caregiver health education is largely unexplored. As parents/caregivers seek medical information online, an understanding of parental preferences is needed. Objective: We sought to explore health care professional and parent/caregiver awareness and views on podcasting as a health education tool. Methods: This survey study was conducted and distributed via in-person collection from parents/caregivers (>= 18 years old) in the waiting room of an academic pediatric primary care clinic, targeted social media promotion, and professional listservs for health care professionals in pediatrics. Statistical analysis included chi-square tests of independence between categorical variables. Results: In total, 125 health care professionals and 126 caregivers completed the survey. Of those surveyed, 81% (101/125) of health care professionals and 55% (69/126) of parents/caregivers listened to podcasts (P<.001). Health care professionals and parents/caregivers listed the same top 3 quality indicators for medical podcasts. Podcast listeners were more likely to have higher incomes and use professional websites for information. The survey elicited a variety of reasons for podcast nonengagement. Conclusions: Health care professionals appear to be more engaged in medical education podcasts than parents/caregivers. However, similar factors were valued when evaluating the quality of a pediatric podcast: accuracy, transparency, and credibility. Professional websites may be one avenue to increase podcast uptake. More needs to be done to explore the use of podcasts and digital media for medical information.