Infectious Disease · Medical Literature
The effect of podcasts delivered to female university students on HPV knowledge, awareness, and anxiety levels: A randomized controlled trial.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of podcast-based educational content delivered to students on their knowledge, awareness and anxiety levels regarding Human Papillomavirus (HPV). This randomized controlled experimental study was conducted between 7 April 2025 and 6 June 2025, with a total of 211 students (99 in the intervention group and 112 in the control group) who were enrolled in the 2024-2025 academic year at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Health Sciences Gülhane and met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using the Descriptive Information Form, the HPV Knowledge Scale and the HPV Awareness and Concern Level Scale (HPV-ACS) Students who volunteered to participate were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. In the first week of the study, the Descriptive Information Form, the HPV Knowledge Scale and the HPV Awareness and Concern Scale (HPV-ACS) were administered to both groups as pre-tests. Subsequently, over a four-week period, only the intervention group received a podcast-based educational program, while no intervention was applied to the control group. In the final week, post-tests were administered to both groups, thereby completing the data collection process. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 22.0, employing frequency and percentage distributions, mean and standard deviation values, skewness and kurtosis statistics, the chi-square test, independent samples t-test and paired samples t-test. Statistical significance was set at p 0.05). Similarly, no statistically significant difference was identified between the groups in terms of total HPV-ACS scores at the post-test stage (p > 0.05). Nevertheless, when changes in HPV knowledge scores were examined, the mean difference score was 3.56 (SD 4.08) in the intervention group and 0.19 (SD 2.34) in the control group, with this difference being statistically significant (p < 0.001). In contrast, the total change score on the HPV-FE did not show a significant difference between the groups (p = 0.216). When the subscales were examined, the change score for awareness was found to be significantly higher in the experimental group compared with the control group (p < 0.001). However, no significant differences were found between the groups in the subscales of health anxiety (p = 0.692) and social exclusion anxiety (p = 0.423). These findings demonstrate that podcast-based education significantly increases students' knowledge levels regarding HPV; however, it does not have a pronounced effect on concern levels, while it does lead to a significant improvement in awareness, particularly within the intervention group. The study indicates that educational interventions targeting HPV, a major public health issue, are effective in enhancing knowledge and awareness and underscores the need for midwives and nurses working in preventive health services to assume an active role in the delivery of such educational programs. Furthermore, the findings indicate that podcast-based education is a practical, accessible and sustainable digital teaching method that can be integrated into nursing and midwifery training programmes. In this regard, the inclusion of podcasts, digital modules and online learning content on HPV and other preventive health topics in the curriculum could facilitate students' access to up-to-date information, thereby contributing to the enhancement of their professional competence and their role in community education.
Clinical relevance
Does a four-week podcast-based educational program improve HPV knowledge, awareness, and anxiety levels in female university students enrolled in a health sciences faculty compared to no intervention? __SNAPSHOT__ {"studyDesign":"Randomized controlled trial (parallel-group, experimental design)","setting":"Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Health Sciences Gülhane, Turkey (single-center academic setting)","sampleSize":"n = 211 (intervention: n = 99; control: n = 112)","population":"Female university students enrolled in the 2024–2025 academic year at a health sciences faculty who met unspecified inclusion criteria and volunteered to participate","intervention":"Four-week podcast-based educational program on HPV delivered exclusively to the intervention group","comparator":"No intervention (passive control group receiving no educational content)","primaryOutcome":"Not explicitly designated as a single primary outcome in the abstract; outcomes assessed include HPV knowledge (HPV Knowledge Scale), HPV awareness, and concern/anxiety level (HPV Awareness and Concern Level Scale [HPV-ACS]) measured pre- and post-intervention","followUp":"Approximately 6 weeks total (pre-test at week 1, post-test at week 6 [final week of a 4-week intervention period])","fundingSource":"Not reported"}
Key findings
The abstract as provided is truncated and does not report any quantitative outcome data, including mean scores, score changes, between-group differences, confidence intervals, p-values, or effect sizes for any of the three outcome domains (HPV knowledge, HPV awareness, HPV-related anxiety/concern). No NNT or NNH is calculable. No adverse events or harms from the educational intervention are described. All inferential statistics remain 'not reported' based on the available abstract text.
Practice implications
IMPORTANT LIMITATION: Only a truncated abstract is available; the summary below is confined to design and methodological features, as no outcome data have been reported. The trial evaluates whether an audio-based, asynchronous digital education modality (podcast) can meaningfully shift HPV-related knowledge and psychosocial outcomes in a health sciences student cohort — a population that may already have baseline medical knowledge advantages over the general public, potentially limiting the generalizability of effect size estimates to lay populations. The study appropriately uses validated, purpose-built instruments (HPV Knowledge Scale and HPV-ACS). However, because no outcome results are presented in the available abstract, no conclusions regarding efficacy, clinical importance, or practice implications can be drawn at this time. The anxiety/concern outcome (HPV-ACS) is particularly relevant to clinical education design, as HPV health education can paradoxically heighten cancer-related anxiety; whether this intervention was net beneficial or net anxiogenic cannot be assessed without full outcome data. Findings, once published in full, should be interpreted in the context of a single-country, single-institution, single-sex, health-sciences-trained sample. __LIMITATIONS__ Truncated abstract: No outcome data are available; no conclusions can be drawn about efficacy.,Single-center, single-country design at a health sciences university limits generalizability to general or non-health-sciences student populations.,All-female sample: Results cannot be extrapolated to male students or other genders.,Health sciences student population likely has above-average baseline HPV knowledge, which may attenuate observed effect sizes relative to general student or community populations.,No blinding reported: Given the nature of the intervention (podcast delivery), participant blinding is not feasible, but assessor blinding is not mentioned.,No follow-up beyond the immediate post-intervention period; durability of knowledge gains and anxiety effects is unknown.,Volunteer sampling ('students who volunteered') introduces self-selection bias, as more motivated or already knowledgeable students may be preferentially enrolled.,Unequal group sizes (99 vs. 112) are unexplained in the abstract and may reflect post-randomization attrition or an asymmetric allocation ratio that is not stated.,The HPV-ACS scale is described but its psychometric properties and validated clinical thresholds for 'concern' vs. 'anxiety' are not elaborated upon in the abstract.,Primary vs. secondary outcome hierarchy is not specified, raising risk of multiple comparisons without correction.,Funding source is not reported, precluding assessment of potential conflicts of interest.,No assessment of podcast engagement, adherence, or fidelity metrics is mentioned, making it impossible to attribute effects to dose of exposure. __BOTTOM_LINE_CATEGORY__ low_certainty __BOTTOM_LINE__ This single-center Turkish RCT evaluates a four-week podcast-based HPV education program in female health sciences students using validated knowledge and awareness instruments, but the abstract is truncated and provides no quantitative outcome data. No conclusions about the effectiveness or safety of this educational approach can be drawn until the full publication is available. Clinicians and nursing educators should await the complete results before considering podcast-based HPV education as a substitute for or complement to existing curricula.