Evaluating the Appropriateness of Podcasts to Improve the Knowledge and Awareness of Selected Health Topics Among Undergraduate General Nursing Students: Protocol for an International Feasibility Study

Abstract

BackgroundPodcasts have proven to be a successful alternative source of educational material for students. Given the ability to listen to podcasts 24/7 and while on the go, this technology has the potential to provide informative and educational material to a large number of people at any given time. Podcasts are usually freely available on commonly used mobile devices, such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets. ObjectiveThis paper describes the impact of health-related podcasts as an intervention tool to support the knowledge and awareness of nursing students on a given topic. MethodsPre- and postpodcast questionnaires will gather data regarding the participants’ knowledge and awareness of two topics—gestational diabetes and mental health. This intervention will be tested on general nursing undergraduate students. The total number of students (N=2395) from the participating universities are broken down as follows: (1) University College Cork (n=850) and the University of Galway (n=450) in Ireland, (2) Mzuzu University in Malawi (n=719), and (3) University of Fort Hare in South Africa (n=376). ResultsThe study received ethical approval from the University College Cork Ethics Committee (2022-027A1). The approval obtained from University College Cork sufficed as ethics coverage for the University of Galway in Ireland. Ethics approval was also received from the Mzuzu University Research Ethics Committee (ID MZUNIREC/DOR/23/28) and the Inter-Faculty Research Ethics Committee of the University of Fort Hare (ID CIL002-21). Data collection is currently underway and will continue until the end of February 2024. The quantitative and qualitative data are expected to be analyzed in March 2024. ConclusionsResults from this study will allow for an investigation into the impact of podcasts in different settings: a high-income country (Ireland), an upper-middle–income country (South Africa), and a low-to-middle–income country (Malawi). The data gathered from this feasibility study will provide more clarity on the potential utility of podcasts as an intervention tool. We will gather data regarding listener demographics (eg, country of residence, age, gender, and year of study). International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/50735