JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The increasing prevalence of poor mental and physical health in adults is a global health concern. Given the scope of this problem, scalable and effective treatment interventions are needed. While podcasts (online digital audio files) are becoming more popular, the extent of podcast use in mental and/or physical health interventions has not been reviewed. Thus, the primary aim of this scoping review was to summarise the available evidence regarding the use of podcasts in health promotion interventions. A series of five research questions were designed to systematically review and accurately represent podcast use in current research interventions.

Methods:

We conducted a search of electronic databases (MEDLINE, Psyc Info, Embase, CINAHL, SCOPUS, CENTRAL), grey literature articles and relevant journals reported in English language. Eligible studies targeted adults (≥18 years), included a podcast in at least one intervention, and measured a mental and/or physical health outcome.

Results:

Overall, 51 articles (26 published studies and 25 grey literature articles) were deemed eligible. A total of 58% of included peer reviewed publications occurred in the last 5 years, suggesting podcasts are growing as an intervention approach. On average, 85.6% (n = 2104) of participants included in these research studies were women. Eight studies contained a women-only sample. In contrast, no research studies contained a male-only sample. Many of the peer-reviewed published publications (73%) and grey literature sources (88%) of the podcasts were employed within multi-component interventions, with the majority targeting physical health outcomes (54% peer reviewed publications and 52% sources of grey literature). Results pertaining to podcast design, sources, theoretical principles, and thorough process evaluation indicators was heterogenous. Discussion: Evident in this scoping review was the versatility podcasts can offer as medium for reaching and engaging with participants and end-users. While research using podcast is growing, many of the studies included in the scoping review were conducted in the United States of America and sampled female participants, highlighting the need to diversify the field. As expected, there was a high level of variation across the included studies in relation to how podcasts were employed and designed within interventions. To address this, it would be valuable to have a standardized approach for researchers and practitioners to guide in both the development and reporting phases of future podcast research (e.g., theoretical framework; described podcast development, including co-design and end-user engagement; objective podcast usage and process evaluation data).