P078 Delivering far reaching patient education in rheumatological conditions and treatments: RadioRheumatology podcasts
Authors: Killick Rosealeen M , Cameron Jeannette , Smith Sandra , Lloyd Mark , Wajed Julekha 
Published: April 2021

Background/Aims 

There is a need for accessible rheumatic patient education . Podcasts can be accessed globally, are simple and cheap to produce and enable access by patients who may have reading difficulties. They also allow local patients to connect personally with their rheumatology department staff. Hospital radio departments offer access to high quality recording equipment and often have spare capacity to facilitate recordings

Methods 

RadioRheumatology podcasts are recorded by our rheumatology clinical team with technical support from RadioFrimleyPark volunteers.Hospital radio departments are often under-utilised and have enthusiastic volunteers. The podcasts are uploaded to our podcast hosting website Buzzsprout (accessible at www.rheumatology.buzzsprout.com) and then propagated to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Android Podcasts and other podcasts sites. Listeners can find our episodes via social media platforms or by searching their podcast provider of choice. We offer a 'QR' link to the podcasts for our patients in clinic and can send the link in a letter or email. In the last 11 months we have recorded podcasts on 'Steroids in Rheumatology', 'Methotrexate Overview' 'Early Inflammatory Arthritis' and 'Rheumatoid Arthritis'.

Results 

RadioRheumatology has been received well both locally and internationally with listeners in 62 different countries. Statistical data is sent from the podcast website on a monthly basis including 'top episodes', 'top apps', listener locations and devices used (to listen to the podcasts): The 'Methotrexate' episode has been the most popular to date and has had over 550 listeners at the time of writing.The United Kingdom has had the most 'listens' (570) followed by The United States (428). We have had listeners as far afield as New Zealand and Malaysia. Within the UK Islington,had the most listens (105), followed by Blackheath (91) Apple iPhone is the most commonly used device used to access (with 694 listens). Feedback so far has been positive.We have have had 5 star reviews and positive feedback from both patients and healthcare professionals. 5* review: A very easy to understand guide to RA: “Fantastic podcast which really explains rheumatoid arthritis but more importantly the help and support available to patients. As a Biologic Specialist Nurse I will certainly be directing my patients and families to this podcast to help them manage their conditions effectively"

Conclusion 

Podcasts can be an effective and cost-effective way to deliver patient education They enable both local and wider patient contact. Podcasts are an increasingly popular medium, particularly since the advent of COVID-19; listener number feedback and reviews enable us to assess the popularity of our episodes and tailor future podcasts accordingly. Hospital radio volunteers have been central to the success of this project by offering their time and championing the use of hospital radio to support clinical teams in delivering patient education.

Disclosure 

R.M. Killick: None. J. Cameron: None. S. Smith: None. M. Lloyd: None. J. Wajed: None.