BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Commun.
Sec. Health Communication
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2025.1589099
Journal Podcasting of Health and Medical Science
Provisionally accepted
- 1The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, United States
- 2Hastings College, Hastings, Nebraska, United States
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Podcasts are a growing medium of mass communication and are increasingly being produced by academic journals. However, little is known about the specific features of these journal-affiliated podcasts, particularly in the health and medical sciences. This study examines the characteristics and features of journal podcasts through a content analysis of 400 episodes from 10 highly indexed journals. Using a quota sampling method, we analyzed the 40 episodes from each series. A systematic coding approach was employed to assess eight key variables, including host type, guest composition, topic, communication format, complexity, and audio quality. Findings reveal that the majority of episodes focus on research published within the parent journal and are primarily hosted by researchers. The prevalent communication format was scientific, with minimal use of narrative or emotive styles. This study represents an initial investigation into the emerging niche of journal podcasts and identifies opportunities for future research to further understand their role in the media ecosystem and to broaden public engagement with scientific research.
Keywords: podcast1, science communication2, health3, medicine4, content analysis 5, health communication 6, medical communication 7
Received: 06 Mar 2025; Accepted: 11 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Greeves, Ledbetter, Mcgovern and Wiley. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Scott Greeves, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, United States
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