
Linking Podcasts With Social Media to Promote Community Health and Medical Research: Feasibility Study
Author(s) -
Joyce E. BallsBerry,
Pamela S. Sinicrope,
Miguel Valdez Soto,
Tabetha A. Brockman,
Martha J. Bock,
Christi A. Patten
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
jmir formative research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2561-326X
DOI - 10.2196/10025
Subject(s) - social media , medical education , psychology , sociology , medicine , computer science , world wide web
Background Linking podcasts with social media is a strategy to promote and disseminate health and health research information to the community without constraints of time, weather, and geography. Objective To describe the process of creating a podcast library and promoting it on social media as a strategy for disseminating health and biomedical research topics to the community. Methods We used a community and patient engagement in research approach for developing a process to use podcasts for dissemination of health and health research information. We have reported the aspects of audience reach, impressions, and engagement on social media through the number of downloads, shares, and reactions posted on SoundCloud, Twitter, and Facebook, among others. Results In collaboration with our local community partner, we produced 45 podcasts focused on topics selected from a community health needs assessment with input from health researchers. Episodes lasted about 22 minutes and presented health-related projects, community events, and community resources, with most featured guests from Olmsted County (24/45, 53%). Health research was the most frequently discussed topic. Between February 2016 and June 2017, episodes were played 1843 times on SoundCloud and reached 1702 users on our Facebook page. Conclusions This study demonstrated the process and feasibility of creating a content library of podcasts for disseminating health- and research-related information. Further examination is needed to determine the best methods to develop a sustainable social media plan that will further enhance dissemination (audience reach), knowledge acquisition, and communication of health topics.