IDPodcasts: An Online Resource for Infectious Diseases Learning

Abstract

The University of South Florida (USF)'s IDPodcasts features hundreds of comprehensive infectious diseases (ID)­–related lectures freely accessible for medical learners and educators at all levels. Content is free and is shared via its flagship website, YouTube channel, podcast series, and an all-new IOS app. Updated app features improve in-app navigation, content accessibility, and overall user friendliness.

In 2007, the USF Division of Infectious Diseases sought a way to archive and webcast live presentations given by its ID faculty. It was the dawn of the social media and online streaming era, and platforms such as YouTube, acquired by Google only a year earlier (2006), were brand new. With the adopted name IDPodcasts, the project (the term “podcast” was coined by a BBC journalist in 2004) sought to adapt ID presentations to a format recently popularized by the infamous Mp3 music player of the 2000s, the iPod. The platform posted its first online podcast in June 2007 and proliferated. IDPodcasts celebrated its 100th podcast in November 2009, and its first early smartphone apps were released in May 2010. Its YouTube channel was inaugurated in 2012. A revamped website followed in 2017, and in 2023, a new multimedia streaming app (Figure 1) was released for IOS devices, with an Android app soon to follow.

Figure 1.

IDPodcasts’ IOS app features content related to infectious diseases (ID) news and a comprehensive catalogue of ID presentations across >40 categories with extensive search features.

Since the inception of IDPodcasts, its early presence on the digital landscape has been joined by an increasingly larger footprint of online digital resources for ID education, including social media platforms (eg, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook), blogs, open-access content portals, and podcasts. IDPodcasts platforms are conveniently positioned as a hybrid of the latter two. The strengths and pitfalls of online digital media have been previously documented [1], but as with all social media, their benefits (including self-directed learning, equity of access, technology enhancements, and establishment of communities of practice) are believed by many to far exceed their limitations.

Today, IDPodcasts hosts hundreds of hours of curated ID presentations from more than 90 fellow and faculty presenters, mostly from USF-affiliated presenters and select outside guest contributors. In addition, its YouTube channel hosts more than 300 presentations, has tens of thousands of subscribers, and is approaching 2 million lifetime views.

IDPodcasts’ educational content can be accessed in multiple ways, including its YouTube channel, website (https://idpodcasts.net) (Figure 2), and Apple podcast series (Figure 3). Because the website and smartphone apps stream content stored on YouTube servers, the social media site's recent 12-month metrics via Google Analytics reveal an insightful look into its audience base and reach. Although US-based listeners rank first in total views and comprise about a third of the audience, two-thirds of its users are from overseas, with India, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines ranking within the top 5 among more than 50 countries. The typical IDPodcasts audience member skews slightly male, is between 25 and 34 years old, and has found the content via a YouTube search. Thus, although the US audience is its biggest core group, IDPodcasts is filling an unmet need for international users looking for credible ID content freely and readily available online.

Figure 2.

Pages from IDPodcasts’ main website (left) and YouTube Channel (right). See text for links to sites.

Figure 3.

IDPodcasts’ content series on Apple Podcasts can be accessed via a browser or with most smartphone podcast apps.

The IDPodcast app may offer the best user experience for most smartphone users. The current third-generation smartphone app was developed with IDPodcasts’ longtime mobile developer, Absolute Marketing Solutions (https://www.absolutemarketingsolutions.com). Critical third-generation app updates were integrated based on user feedback and suggestions. The app was built with the established Ionic platform (https://ionic.io), using IDPodcasts’ existing web server infrastructure for hosting. After the application is downloaded and installed from the IOS App Store, it opens to the “latest” tab featuring recent ID-related stories linked to the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), its ID news-content resource. A second tab features the newest uploaded podcast presentations.

The educational platform's content is curated from grand rounds at the USF’s Division of Infectious Diseases, ID fellows’ presentation conferences, and invited lecturer programs. Presentations are presented and reviewed by USF ID faculty before online posting and selected for online sharing by IDPodcasts’ editorial staff, based on digital conversion quality, presentation format, and clinical relevance. IDPodcasts excels at having a comprehensive content database in multiple ID categories. Specific podcasts may be searched by category or by contributor.

The new IOS app includes versatile features that make viewing content on a smartphone more enjoyable. These include designating favorites, audio-only playlist for in-car streaming, background audio play, picture-in-picture (PIP) play, master search capability, AirPlay/screen mirroring for playback on a large monitor, and regularly updated ID news content. The app works equally well on an iPad, especially in portrait orientation. Listening and learning while driving has become incredibly accessible, given its compatibility with Apple CarPlay.

IDPodcasts is entirely self-supported by USF's Morsani College of Medicine and a limited number of noncommercial partners. The app and website are universally accessible; no subscription or user fees are requested.

Maintaining the commitment to support IDPodcasts’ online educational mission for more than 15 years has not been without adversities, including funding challenges, continuous technology and software upgrades, faculty turnover, and the pressures of posting quality and informative content regularly. Nevertheless, we see the potential for further growth of the various related platforms by introducing a greater variety of non-USF affiliated presenters, a more versatile curation process on the website, the introduction of CME for select content, and the potential for live programs. However, with a dedicated group of USF's ID faculty, fellows, and other guest presenters continuing to freely share this content for over one and a half decades, we think it is an indispensable reference for medical students, residents, fellows, pharmacists, pharmacy residents, and practicing physicians who wish to view ID-related content on the go during their busy practice and learning schedules.

IDPodcasts delivers on its slogan, “Educating clinicians one podcast at a time.” Here are links to its various platforms—main website: https://www.idpodcasts.net; IOS app on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id-podcasts/id367837172; IDPodcasts YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/IDPodcasts; IDPodcasts podcast series on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/usf-healths-idpodcasts/id306278638; IDPodcasts on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USFID/; and IDPodcasts on Twitter: https://twitter.com/idpodcasts.