AN ANALYSIS OF FERTILITY PODCASTS: WHAT ARE PATIENTS LISTENING TO OUTSIDE OF THE CLINIC?

Abstract

To identify and summarize available podcasts pertaining to fertility, infertility and IVF (in vitro fertilization) in order to provide a better understanding of information accessible to patients outside of the clinical setting. Cross-sectional analysis Apple and Google Podcast Player applications were searched using the key words: fertility, infertility and IVF in November 2019. Included podcast results were published in English and had over 50% of episodes relevant to the searched topics. Podcasts were excluded if they were not accessible on both Apple and Google Podcast Player applications. Podcasts were assessed for: author credentials, content, dates of air, ratings and length of episodes. The query produced 310 podcast results, of which 117 were unique podcasts and met inclusion criteria. The dates of initial episode ranged from 2007 to 2019 with only 9% of podcasts dated prior to 2016. The number of fertility podcasts released in 2019 increased 5-fold since 2016. The majority of podcasts had episodes less than one hour in duration and only 29% had any episodes greater than one hour. Thirty-two percent of podcasts were categorized as Health and Fitness, 23% as Alternative Health and most others fell into categories including Nutrition, Mental Health, Christianity, Medicine, Sexuality, Society and Culture. Twenty-two percent of podcasts were published by authors who identified as prior or current patients, 9% by medical physicians and 8% by authors who identified as “coaches” (life, fertility, health). The majority of podcasts targeted patients rather than providers and offered support rather than medical advice. Many podcasts included interviews with patients, health care providers and other experts in the field. The top three most popular podcasts had over 400 reviews, whereas the average number of reviews per podcast was 49. In general, fertility podcasts were well received and had an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars. With increasing popularity and accessibility of podcasts, it is important to have a sense of what exists in the realm of fertility podcasts. Medical physicians currently author only a fraction of these podcasts thus there is significant opportunity for growth in this platform for education and patient support. Fertility podcasts may be created and utilized by healthcare providers to supplement information outside of the clinical setting in order to better guide patient care.