The Impact of Source and Message Relevance on Audience Responses to Health Podcasts

This study explores the impact of source type (expert, experienced, and layperson) and message relevance (high versus low relevance) on message processing and persuasion in the context of health podcasts as a health promotion tool. Findings from a 3 (source) x 2 (message relevance) within-subjects factorial design experiment (N = 113) showed perceived source competence, perceived source trustworthiness, perceived message effectiveness, health behavior intentions, and podcast download intentions were greatest for podcasts delivered by an expert source, followed by an experienced source and a layperson source. Podcasts with higher message relevance resulted in greater health behavior intentions and podcast download intentions.