The podcast project was a collaboration between the Digital Health Transformation Service (DHTS) at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust with project management expertise and a recognised interest in ‘all things digital’ and the School and Public Health Nurses Association (SAPHNA), a professional organisation dedicated to the ongoing development of and achieving excellence in school nursing practice.
Both organisations shared intelligence about the themes and challenges emerging from school nursing practice. The Digital Health Transformation Service at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust provides the ‘ChatHealth’ text service for a growing number of school nursing services across the UK. This service enables young people to confidentially and anonymously text their school nurse to gain help, support and advice on any health and wellbeing. In addition, DHTS provide websites healthforteens.co.uk and healthforkids.co.uk, which provide reliable and up-to-date information on a range of health and wellbeing issues. Data is collected and trends are monitored which help identify the type of support that young people are contacting their school nurse about or accessing the websites about. The data showed that one of the top reasons for young people to contact school nurses via ChatHealth messaging is to seek support for their emotional health and wellbeing. In addition, data on the most visited pages on the Health for Teens websites showed that articles about emotional health, smoking and sexual health were the most popular with visitors. Similarly, SAPHNA heard from school nurses during webinars and special interest groups increasing concern about issues such as the school nurse's role in safeguarding, how schools can effectively respond to concerns about the increase in vaping, a rise in obesity and how to support young people struggling with their mental health and navigating gender issues.
Why is there a need to approach professional development differently?
There has been a change in how professionals engage in professional development since the pandemic which necessitated the use of virtual digital platforms replacing in-person training. SAPHNA responded to this challenge by offering a range of interactive live webinars to support professional development. These were well attended, however, there were often times when participants needed to cancel places or leave webinars early because of workload constraints.
The idea for a podcast aimed at school nurses came from a lively discussion on social media last year. Podcasts have been shown to be a good medium to disseminate information, stimulate debate, explore topical issues and gain detailed and reflective insight into valuable lived experiences (Bedford, 2022). Further exploration by SAPHNA found that there was indeed a strong appetite for a school nursing podcast to aid the professional development of school nurses. Several school nurses have also shown an interest in being involved in the production. The idea of a series of podcasts was explored as an option to deliver information about key topics, being a medium of delivery which is relatively low-cost to produce and can be flexible to access at a time which suits the nurse.
How were the podcasts developed?
There is no shortage of passion and dedication in the school nursing workforce, alongside experience and knowledge. It was agreed that the podcasts needed to be engaging and relevant. The idea of podcasts for school nurses by school nurses was developed with the aim of inspiring the workforce, stimulating innovative ideas, and sharing good practice. To ensure that the focus of the podcasts was right, a call-out to school nurses across the UK to select topics and to canvass volunteers who were willing to take part in the podcasts.
The production of the podcasts followed a relaxed, conversational style. A podcast production company was hired to provide technical guidance, and they recommended avoiding overly scripted content. Instead, the participants were provided with a general overview of the topic and a prompt sheet for the chairperson, ensuring the discussion stayed on track while allowing the conversation to flow naturally. The hosts, Sharon White (CEO of SAPHNA), Sallyann Sutton (professional officer at SAPHNA), and Laura Burrowes (clinical lead at DHTS), were joined by guest speakers from various regions, including Hampshire, Birmingham, Leeds, and even Cyprus. This range of voices enriched the discussions with diverse perspectives from across the UK.
Involving children and young people
A key aspect of the podcast development process was the inclusion of young people's voices. SAPHNA and DHTS pride themselves on co-producing materials, including those for professional development. The topics of the podcasts were driven by data on issues that children and young people contact school nurses for support. Data collected from ChatHealth, which handled nearly 10 000 conversations between April 2023 and March 2024, provided a wealth of insight into the concerns of young people.
Additionally, the Health for Teens website, which offers age-appropriate information and advice for young people, had 289 070 visitors in 2022–2023, further highlighting the key issues that young people seek guidance on. These insights, combined with sound bites of children and young people's views and experiences – recorded by Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust for use on the Health for Teens website – were woven into the podcasts. For example, audio clips of young people discussing topics such as depression and what being healthy means to them gave the episodes a unique and authentic touch.
‘The idea of podcasts for school nurses by school nurses was developed with the aim of inspiring the workforce, stimulating innovative ideas, and sharing good practice.’
| Countries | Downloads | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| England | 2260 | 88.45% |
| Scotland | 179 | 7.01% |
| Wales | 98 | 3.84% |
| Northern Ireland | 18 | 0.7% |
This co-production approach ensured that the podcasts did not just focus on theory but also reflected real-world experiences of the children and young people that school nurses work with, making the content more relatable and practical for listeners.
Evaluation and outcomes
Measuring the success of podcasts as a medium for learning was a challenge. One approach was to gather information about the podcast downloads to understand the number of downloads and unique users. Due to GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) regulations, download information was anonymised, making it challenging to gain feedback from those who accessed the podcasts. Therefore, short surveys were sent out to the target audience to understand whether listeners enjoyed the series and whether it had an impact on their clinical practice (Newman et al, 2021).
Download data
A webinar was held to announce the launch of the podcast series on the release date of the first two episodes. This was attended by 62 participants who were asked to complete an evaluation. The podcasts were promoted across the DHTS and SAPHNA social media channels and shared by other networks and accounts. More than 18 000 impressions happened on the ChatHealth channels alone.
The number of downloads has been monitored and have increased significantly following the launch. They became trending podcasts in the Apple Podcast Top Shows charts, reaching number 20 in the first week of release. A total of 2 818 downloads have been recorded. Across UK countries most listeners were from England, followed by Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. July data shows that 36% of the downloads have been listened to via Apple podcast, 20% Edge, 17% Spotify and 10% Google Chrome.
As of the 16th of July 2024, the podcasts have been downloaded 4 497 times. The most downloaded episode was ‘What's the role of the School Nurse?’, followed by ‘Gender identity – what are the facts?’. Almost 88% of the downloads were from within the UK, however, the podcasts were accessed from countries across the world including the United States (8%) and a smaller number in countries including Japan, Australia, Cyprus, New Zealand and Canada.
| Title | Released | Downloads | Percentage of all episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| What's the role of the school nurse? | 30 Jan 24 | 1 100 | 24.40 |
| Gender Identity – What are the facts? | 30 Jan 24 | 777 | 17.20 |
| Healthy Lifestyles – What's the picture? | 6 Feb 24 | 557 | 12.30 |
| Mental Health – How are kids feeling? | 13 Feb 24 | 590 | 13.10 |
| Safeguarding – How do we keep kids safe? | 20 Feb 24 | 575 | 12.70 |
| School Nursing Uncovered Series Trailer | 1 Dec 23 | 323 | 7.10 |
| Vaping – What's happening? | 27 Feb 24 | 575 | 12.70 |
Survey data
A survey was sent via email to those on the Digital Transformation Service mailing list requesting that they complete a short survey if they had listened to any of the podcasts. All respondents were school or public health nurses working in the NHS or local authority. All respondents had listened to more than 1 podcast, 30% had listened to all 6 episodes. Sixty-one percent of respondents rated the content of the podcasts as very good, 38% as excellent. Similarly, the quality of the hosts, guests, length of the podcasts and relevance of the topics areas were rated as either very good or excellent. All of the respondents who listened to the podcasts stated that they would recommend the podcasts to colleagues.
Most respondents listened to the podcasts because the topic was an area of interest and 84% wished to increase their knowledge about the topic. Thirty-eight percent of respondents reported that they accessed the podcasts as part of their personal and professional development and to increase their confidence in supporting children and young people. One participant stated that they listened to the podcast as they were intrigued to hear ‘what was being said about school nursing and how it was working in other areas’. Respondents were asked to their top share learning points having listened to the podcasts. The following points were the most commonly cited:
Participants were asked how they will use the learning from the podcasts in their practice. The following themes emerged:
Those completing the survey requested a wide range of topics for future podcasts including CSE grooming/county lines, gangs, knife crime, sexual health, school attendance issues, digital platforms, clinical supervision, skill mix, supporting parents of children with SEND, mental health and quality assurance.
Process evaluation
It was important to evaluate the process of developing the podcasts. Therefore, feedback was provided by those taking part in the development and recording of the podcasts.
‘This was such an uplifting experience to record the podcasts which involved lots of lively and passionate discussions, showcasing good practice and challenges. Fantastic to be sharing the “mic” with knowledgeable and enthusiastic school nurses from around the country. The podcasts really articulate the value and show the impact that school nursing has on improving outcomes of children and young people.’
‘What a fabulous experience, so pleased to hear and see so many positive and proactive school nurses.’
‘[A] co-production approach ensured that the podcasts did not just focus on theory but also reflected real-world experiences of the children and young people that school nurses work with, making the content more relatable and practical for listeners.’
‘Brilliantly organised, with a lovely buzz in the room before, during and after the podcasts. It was fantastic to network with others and do something different.’
‘I really enjoyed meeting everyone and focusing on all things school nursing. It was really well organised and a pleasure to be part of. Thank you for a wonderful podcasting experience.’
Challenges
The podcasts were intended to support professional development and connect school nurses across the UK. Whilst the intended audience was school nurses and their teams, the podcasts were publicly accessible and prior to launch they were promoted across social media platforms. At the time that the podcasts were being promoted and then launched, the Independent Review of Gender Identity Services was in progress, the final report being published in April 2024 (CASS, 2024). A consultation seeking views on guidance to support schools and colleges to make considered and lawful decisions in relation to children who are questioning their gender and the wider school and college community was also in progress. Due to the sensitivity of the gender identity topic, it was agreed by all to temporarily suspend the availability of the podcast prior to the general election and review this decision post-election.
Conclusions
Podcasts offer a flexible and accessible approach to professional development for school nurses, especially in a fast-evolving healthcare landscape. The success of this series highlights the passion and commitment within the school nursing community to stay informed and improve outcomes for children and young people. Moving forward, podcasts can play an even greater role in delivering cost-effective, widely accessible training that meets the demands of modern practice.