A Fork in the Road for Emergency Medicine and Critical Care Blogs and Podcasts: Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background Free open-access meducation (FOAM) refers to open-access, web-based learning resources in medicine. It includes all formats of digital products, including blogs and podcasts. The number of FOAM blog and podcast sites in emergency medicine and critical care increased dramatically from 2002 to 2013, and physicians began to rely on the availability of these resources. The current landscape of these FOAM sites is unknown. Objective This study aims to (1) estimate the current number of active, open-access blogs and podcasts in emergency medicine and critical care and (2) describe observed and anticipated trends in the FOAM movement using the Theory of Disruptive Innovation by Christensen as a theoretical framework. Methods The authors used multiple resources and sampling strategies to identify active, open-access blogs and podcasts between April 25, 2022, and May 8, 2022, and classified these websites as blogs, podcasts, or blogs+podcasts. For each category, they reported the following outcome measures using descriptive statistics: age, funding, affiliations, and team composition. Based on these findings, the authors projected trends in the number of active sites using a positivist paradigm and the Theory of Disruptive Innovation as a theoretical framework. Results The authors identified 109 emergency medicine and critical care websites, which comprised 45.9% (n=50) blogs, 22.9% (n=25) podcasts, and 31.2% (n=34) blogs+podcasts. Ages ranged from 0 to 18 years; 27.5% (n=30) sold products, 18.3% (n=20) used advertisements, 44.0% (n=48) had institutional funding, and 27.5% (n=30) had no affiliation or external funding sources. Team sizes ranged from 1 (n=26, 23.9%) to ≥5 (n=60, 55%) individuals. Conclusions There was a sharp decline in the number of emergency medicine and critical care blogs and podcasts in the last decade, dropping 40.4% since 2013. The initial growth of FOAM and its subsequent downturn align with principles in the Theory of Disruptive Innovation by Christensen. These findings have important implications for the field of medical education.

The rebel, the professor, and the entrepreneur: Qualitative study to explore creator stories of FOAM

“…20 These factors may have contributed to a contraction in the number of FOAM sites and an increased reliance on paid models. 8 The creators that we interviewed were similar in that many were willing to devote their own time and money to enhance medical education. This finding aligns with research suggesting that wealthier people are more likely to spend leisure time on active behaviors (e.g., exercising and volunteering) rather than passive behaviors (e.g., watching television).…”

“…While the median value of a top site can be over $23,000, this represents a fraction of the associated server, labor, and organizational costs 20 . These factors may have contributed to a contraction in the number of FOAM sites and an increased reliance on paid models 8 …”

“…Though we identified three types of FOAM creators, they all described barriers that make continued content creation and growth challenging. This may partially explain the decrease in the number of FOAM outlets between 2013 and 2022 8 . Perhaps some physicians will continue to be philanthropic about FOAM, freely donating their time and using their own funds to purchase equipment (e.g., recording equipment) or services (e.g., web hosting fees).…”

“…Addressing this gap is vital to sustaining an essential source of information. For those within academia, a better understanding of what motivates FOAM creators may provide transferable insights and wisdom that can be applied more broadly to other scholarly pursuits 5–8 . For those who seek to become FOAM creators, it may serve as a blueprint to success in FOAM and barriers to expect along the way.…”

Systematic online academic resource (SOAR) review: Pediatric respiratory infectious disease

“…This suggests that there are opportunities to encourage the production of higher quality material on the reviewed topics, especially given the overall small number of pediatric-specific FOAM resources and the overall winnowing and consolidation of sites. 43 In addition, authors should consider using the rMETRIQ criteria more explicitly as a quality focused structure pre-and postpublication.…”