A survey analysis of listeners of an equine science podcast aimed at
bridging the gap between scientists and horse enthusiasts for knowledge
transfer and improved horse welfare
Abstract
Background Podcasts have become a popular digital forum for discussing
scientific information with peers, as well as with the non-scientific
community, often referred to as ‘edutainment’. It is unclear how
science-based podcasts can support the veterinary industry through, for
example, supporting good husbandry practices. Objectives To understand
the influence of ‘edutainment’ on equine owners’ husbandry decisions
Study Design The sample population was listeners of the Conversations in
Equine Science (CES) podcast recruited to complete an online survey via
a link promoted by the CES hosts. The survey contained Likert-like
questions assessing how listeners rated the importance of different
forms of evidence when making husbandry decisions and questions relating
to husbandry changes made. Methods A mixed methods approach was used to
analyse the data. The Likert package for R was used to explore
importance ratings. Free text questions were analysed via a content
analysis with a constructionist epistemological position. Results The
experience of veterinarians and scientific evidence was considered the
most important forms of evidence that owners used when making decisions
about their horse’s management (93% agreed and 91% agreed they were
important respectively). Additionally, 74% of respondents had made a
change to the management or training principles prompted by an episode
of CES, suggesting edutainment can be a prompt to management change. Of
these, the majority (55%) had done so based on a joint discussion of
the podcast and their own reading of the evidence. Main Limitations This
was an opportunistic sample of those already invested in the edutainment
format, and may not represent those owners with no interest in
scientific evidence. Conclusions Podcasts are an easy-access, low-cost
medium to convey research and current trends in the equine/equitation
science genre. They may be a valuable tool for the veterinary industry
to employ to support horse welfare.