INTRODUCTION Audiology is a healthcare field that would benefit significantly from increased exposure in contemporary media, given a lack of awareness about the importance of hearing health internationally, including amongst primary healthcare providers when compared to other health conditions. 1, 2 Compounding this lack of awareness is evidence suggesting that internet information regarding hearing health requires at least 9 to 14 years of education to read and understand. 3 Employing an easily accessible and engaging electronic medium such as a podcast presents an opportunity to raise awareness about common ear issues, the role of audiologists, and issues pertaining to audiology practice. Educational podcasts are seen by students as entertaining, capable of providing a sense of community, and effective in enhancing knowledge acquisition. 4, 5Figure 1: Survey questions focused on content of interest and motivation for listening (n = 134) Table 1: Tabular summary of release details and focus of each episodeTable 2: Summary of listener engagement, understanding, and perceptions of the podcastDespite benefits noted for listeners, very little research has been conducted into the role that healthcare students could play in the creation of podcasts. A podcast series is a potential opportunity for students to act as partners with teachers to contribute to an education-based venture, which can provide newfound interest in topics otherwise not captured in curricula, and allow for fresh perspectives on teaching. 6 Given a lack of research focusing on student-led podcasts in healthcare and audiology in particular, it is of importance to better understand how such podcasts may be received by listeners in terms of engagement and use. Given these considerations, this study aimed to: Establish potential listeners’ views toward a student-led audiology podcast series. Detail the creation process of the podcast. Evaluate the reach and impact of the podcast. METHODS Study design. This study used quantitative data collection to capture a comprehensive overview of the podcast’s reach, listener engagement, and overall effectiveness as an educational tool. This study was approved by The University of Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee (project ID: 29081). Scoping survey. A survey consisting of 11 questions was used to explore participants’ current podcast listening habits and preferences/interest in audiology podcasts. An anonymous link to the survey was distributed via word-of-mouth as well as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Following the survey, participants could also elect to provide an email address to receive further correspondence from the researchers following the podcast’s release. Podcast creation. The podcast Inner Ear Secrets: An Audiology Podcast was conceptualized, created, and distributed by a team of two audiology educators and three final-year student audiologists. Following the principles of Students as Partners (SaP), content creation and decision making were seen as collaborative endeavours across all stages of creation. 6 The steps included creation of a logo, podcast music, script writing and review, guest scheduling, securing software, followed by recording, editing, and uploading each episode. Episodes were recorded in bulk over two days, using Squadcast by Descript software. 7 The podcast was disseminated via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. Promotional material for each episode was published on Instagram and TikTok to encourage engagement. Podcast evaluation. The REC framework was used to evaluate costs in Australian Dollars (AUD) (a framework previously used to estimate costs of healthcare podcast development). 8 Opportunity costs were included to represent income lost due to the time committed to the production, using an average audiologist’s salary of 50. 61 per hour. 9 Once all eight episodes were released, a post-podcast survey was disseminated to 61 respondents from the scoping survey that provided their email address. This survey aimed to evaluate listeners’ satisfaction, engagement, and perceived education value of the podcast. Podcast listening data were retrieved from all podcast platforms on November 11, 2024. RESULTS Scoping survey. A total of 134 participants completed the scoping survey, of which 104 (78%) identified as female, 24 (18%) male, 2 (1%) non-binary, and 4 (3%) choosing not to disclose. Most respondents were below 34 years of age (83%). Professionally, 54 (40%) were audiologists, 39 (29%) were general public, 28 (21%) were audiology students, and 13 (10%) were non-audiology healthcare professionals. Seventy-eight percent of respondents reported interest in listening to audiology podcasts. Participants were asked how often they currently listened to podcasts related to audiology: 67% reported they never listen, 24% said rarely, 10% monthly, 1% weekly, and 1% daily. (Listening motivation and topics of interest are reported in Fig. 1. ) Creation. Production resulted in 8 episodes for season 1, with release of 2 episodes per week across July and August 2024. The cost per episode was estimated to amount to 385. 23 AUD, with total costs approximating 3, 081. 80 AUD. This comprised of opportunity costs (approximately 10. 2 hours per episode, 97. 5%) and software (2. 5%). Evaluation. Across all platforms, the series had 891 downloads/streams, (per episode mean of 111; SD = 56. 42). Listeners tuned in from 11 different countries, including Australia, England, United States, Canada, Scotland, Sweden, Poland, Denmark, Lithuania, Norway, and Taiwan. Of the 134 participants who completed the scoping survey, 61 (45. 5%) provided an email address for further contact, and 23 (17. 2%) completed the post-podcast evaluation survey. The majority of participants were aged 18 to 34 (n = 17, 74%), with a predominantly female audience (n = 15, 65%). Most were audiology students (n = 12, 52%), followed by members of the general public (n = 7, 30%), and audiologists (n = 4, 12%). An increase in interest in audiology concepts was reported by all 7 respondents from the general public, who had no prior knowledge of audiology. (Survey responses are captured in Table 2. ) DISCUSSION This study shows a student-led audiology podcast can attract a modest international audience of varying professional backgrounds and outlines a novel method of increasing awareness of hearing-related concepts. The scoping survey revealed most people had never listened to audiology-related podcasts, despite being interested in doing so. This disparity between interest and consumption may be related to a lack of available content coupled with a lack of audiology awareness in those not part of the profession. 2 Given this disparity between listening intentions and behaviours, it is important for audiology podcast creators to employ effective marketing strategies to increase awareness of their podcasts and maximise their reach to their target audience. In terms of podcast creation, the estimated cost per episode of Inner Ear Secrets was 385. 23 AUD, higher than the 268. 35 AUD per episode reported by Ruparelia et al. for their student led ophthalmology podcast (when converting CAD to AUD and adjusting for inflation from 2021 to 2024). 8 This is likely due to calculations including student hours as costs, importantly highlighting how student contributors may be financially affected by the time spent on the podcast. The podcast achieved a total amount of 891 streams within 3 months of release. Social media served to communicate the podcast to the creators’ networks, mostly consisting of members of the audiology community. This study had a relatively small sample size for the evaluation survey, perhaps unsurprisingly composed mostly of student and qualified audiologists. For professionals and students within the field, the content might have reinforced existing knowledge rather than introducing novel clinical concepts. For an audience already familiar with the material, the podcast may serve more as a supplementary educational tool rather than offering new insights. 4 Had the sample included more general public listeners, the results might have demonstrated a stronger educational impact. Despite this, all respondents from the general public reported increased interest in audiology after listening, highlighting the potential of podcasts to improve public awareness of hearing health. 1 Overall, the authors’ evaluation indicated high levels of listener satisfaction and increased understanding of audiology concepts, further highlighting the podcast’s educational value. This aligns with the observations on the impact of educational podcasts in enhancing knowledge retention and professional development. 5 The podcast’s student-led format also appeared to significantly influence the audience composition, with a large proportion of final survey respondents/listeners being audiology students (n = 12, 52%). This reflects the relevance and relatability of the content for those pursuing studies in this field. Furthermore, these findings reiterate how SaP initiatives can lead to educational gains not only for those directly involved, but also other students or individuals. 6 CONCLUSION In summary, this study highlights that a student-led podcast presents opportunities for emerging clinicians to contribute to the audiology field and adds to a growing body of evidence of educational approaches within the audiology profession. The Inner Ear Secrets podcast series demonstrated its potential as a valuable educational resource, particularly for raising awareness and introducing key audiology concepts to listeners unfamiliar with the field. This study may serve as a guide for other students and educators interested in using podcasts for education in the health professions.
Bowers et al. (Wed,) studied this question.