Listeners’ perspectives of a co-designed podcast on mental illness stigma: a qualitative study
Journal of Public Mental Health
ISSN: 1746-5729
Article publication date: 18 October 2024
Issue publication date: 3 December 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Stigma towards people living with complex mental health issues is widespread and harmful, preventing help-seeking behaviour, fostering social exclusion and decreasing self-efficacy. This study aims to investigate the usefulness and drawbacks of a mental health-themed podcast in reducing stigma.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 participants who had each listened to three episodes of the co-designed podcast “On the Same Wavelength”. Interview data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Findings
Four themes were generated: learning from a trustworthy source; connecting with lived experience; reducing stigma, one listener at a time; and a high-quality podcast with limited reach. Listeners appraised the podcast as improving their attitudes and behavioural intentions towards people living with mental illness and their understanding of mental illness and stigma. They perceived the lived experience narratives as its most impactful element, but felt the podcast might not have mass appeal.
Originality/value
Despite the popularity of mental health-themed podcasts, there is limited research examining their potential to reduce stigma. This study provided insight into the usefulness, listener acceptability and impactful elements of such podcasts, by exploring listeners’ perspectives of a new podcast co-designed to reduce stigma.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank all interview participants who contributed towards this study.
Funding: This study forms part of a larger program of research that was funded by the National Stigma Report Card project, which was led by SANE in partnership with the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences from 2018 to 2021 with the support of the Paul Ramsay Foundation.
Conflict of interest: Until October 2023, Elise Carrotte was a paid employee at SANE. She currently hosts a podcast unrelated to this body of work.
Citation
Waldman, E., Phillips, L. and Carrotte, E.R. (2024), "Listeners’ perspectives of a co-designed podcast on mental illness stigma: a qualitative study", Journal of Public Mental Health, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 339-347. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPMH-05-2024-0063
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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