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Podcasting is becoming a more popular form of media. Its use in medical education is being researched—but what about its use in public education? In this tutorial, the authors offer a how-to-guide on starting a public or patient-facing podcast. The authors hope to inspire more physicians to utilize this type of media to share evidence-based information. More research is needed looking into how podcasting can be used to help with patient education.

Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) mitigates the long-term effects of neuronal excitotoxicity and cell death seen in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). It remains the most evidence-based therapy for HIE, but it is not without clinical controversy. The literature abounds with questions, such as “When should we start cooling—as early as the delivery room?” “Given the efficacy of TH for moderate to severe HIE when started within 6 hours of birth, can we expand the therapy to infants with mild HIE?” “What should the target temperature be?” “What is the optimal duration of treatment?” “Is early discontinuation acceptable if the examination findings normalize?” These questions about TH, its incomplete neurologic rescue, and variations in the delivery of this therapy have prompted this review. This article summarizes changing procedural considerations for TH, the level of neuromonitoring available, the use of sedation, and considerations for neuroimaging during and after TH.

Background Podcasts are used increasingly in medicine. There is growing research into the role of podcasts in medical education, but the use of podcasting as a tool for pediatric parent/caregiver health education is largely unexplored. As parents/caregivers seek medical information online, an understanding of parental preferences is needed. Objective We sought to explore health care professional and parent/caregiver awareness and views on podcasting as a health education tool. Methods This survey study was conducted and distributed via in-person collection from parents/caregivers (≥18 years old) in the waiting room of an academic pediatric primary care clinic, targeted social media promotion, and professional listservs for health care professionals in pediatrics. Statistical analysis included chi-square tests of independence between categorical variables. Results In total, 125 health care professionals and 126 caregivers completed the survey. Of those surveyed, 81% (101/125) of health care professionals and 55% (69/126) of parents/caregivers listened to podcasts (P<.001). Health care professionals and parents/caregivers listed the same top 3 quality indicators for medical podcasts. Podcast listeners were more likely to have higher incomes and use professional websites for information. The survey elicited a variety of reasons for podcast nonengagement. Conclusions Health care professionals appear to be more engaged in medical education podcasts than parents/caregivers. However, similar factors were valued when evaluating the quality of a pediatric podcast: accuracy, transparency, and credibility. Professional websites may be one avenue to increase podcast uptake. More needs to be done to explore the use of podcasts and digital media for medical information.

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