Marketing mental health services: a mixed-methods analysis of racially and ethnically diverse college students' engagement with and perspectives on U.S. university mental health clinics' websites.

BACKGROUND: The United States (U.S.) faces a significant mental health crisis, with around 52.9 million adults experiencing mental health disorders, with young adults (18-25 years old), such as college students, having the highest prevalence and lowest service utilization rates. While efforts to expand mental health services through "push" strategies are in place (e.g., training therapists in evidence-based therapies), limited initial engagement suggests a need for "pull strategies" and targeted marketing that make services attractive to college students and increase demand. This mixed-methods study identifies U.S. university mental health clinic websites and website characteristics that are attractive and engaging to college students interested in seeking mental health services (i.e., students were considering or actively looking for mental health support). METHODS: Eleven U.S. university websites were chosen (10 randomly and one from the university where students were attending) from a pool of 44 Psychological Clinical Science Accreditation System training clinics websites. Fifty-seven college students (Mage = 20.95, SD = 2.97; 81% female; 68% racial/ethnic minority) were videorecorded engaging with two U.S. university mental health clinic websites, completed self-report engagement measures, and gave detailed feedback about websites through semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: Likert scale scores revealed moderate engagement with all websites (e.g., they were interesting and helpful). Qualitative results indicated that websites that provided important and easily understood information about key features of services (e.g., types, evidence-base, and cost), therapist backgrounds, psychoeducation, used lay language, and had an appealing website layout (e.g., color, font, images, organization, and interactive components) generated greater consumer interest and trust in their mental health services. CONCLUSIONS: This study emphasizes the importance of using marketing strategies to enhance college students' engagement through mental health service websites. Salient features, psychoeducation, and effective promotional strategies (e.g., how information is presented) were identified as crucial for website engagement and subsequent mental health service uptake. Using marketing strategies, such as tailoring language to consumer literacy levels, describing the evidence-base of services, and improving website design may address college students' needs and enhance initial mental health service engagement.

Understanding the evolution of competing institutional logics in the marketization of care: A stage model analysis of Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme.

This study explores the marketization of healthcare through a stage model analysis, focusing on Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). By employing mixed methods, including sentiment and frequency analysis as well as qualitative content analysis of policy documents and media coverage, we trace the NDIS's evolution and the interplay of competing social welfare and market logics over time. Our findings underline that the evolution and interplay between competing institutional logics follow a stage model of institutional change, detailing pre-emergence, orientation, contestation, consolidation, and normalization phases. Additionally, we observe a shift in dominant institutional logics across different stages, demonstrating the critical role of media and public sentiment in shaping discourse about the marketization of care, which intertwines with policy decision-making. Our findings emphasize the importance of adaptive engagement and communication strategies by policymakers to avoid marginalizing vulnerable groups as institutional logics evolve, especially in the latter stages of the process when a dominant logic has emerged. The study highlights the complex dynamics of institutional change and offers insights for both researchers and practitioners in the healthcare sector, shedding light on the coevolution of competing logics in the policy development and implementation process.

[Dynamics of regionalization and repercussions of gaps in care on health marketing in remote rural municipalities]. / Dinâmica da regionalização e repercussões dos vazios assistenciais na comercialização da saúde em municípios rurais remotos.

This article analyzed the dynamics of regionalization in municipalities within hinterlands and the possible implications of gaps in care for the marketing of health. This is a multiple case study with a qualitative approach, involving 76 semi-structured interviews with municipal, regional, and state managers. The results show that, particularly in the Northern states, the regional scheme did not reflect the social dynamics of the populations and created inadequate flows and unwanted routes. The municipal political agenda often prioritized interests other than that of regionalization, and rural problems did not mobilize managers to build specific regional planning. Parliamentary amendments were essential for investment in healthcare and the managers pointed to clientelistic relationships to obtain such resources, often conditioned by political-ideological alignment. The scarcity of public services favored dependence on the private sector and the commercialization of health in different situations. The great distances and the lack of public services in municipalities in the hinterland made the local public health system offer eminently dependent on contracts with private providers who negotiated on a retail basis or via service packages. Lastly, in the wake of unmet needs and gaps in care in remote rural municipalities, players in the healthcare market ₋ companies supplying inputs, consultants, healthcare professionals, and transportation services ₋ filled the gaps in public provision, sometimes controlling prices, supply and availability of services.

Analisam-se a dinâmica da regionalização em municípios rurais remotos e as possíveis implicações dos vazios assistenciais na comercialização da saúde. Trata-se de um estudo de casos múltiplos, com abordagem qualitativa, por meio de 76 entrevistas semiestruturadas com gestores municipais, regionais e estaduais. Os resultados revelam que, particularmente nos estados da Região Norte, o desenho regional não repercutia a dinâmica social das populações e criava fluxos inadequados e rotas indesejadas. A agenda política municipal priorizava, muitas vezes, interesses díspares à regionalização e as questões da ruralidade não mobilizavam os gestores para a construção de um planejamento regional específico. Emendas parlamentares ocupavam um lugar imprescindível para o investimento em saúde e os gestores apontaram relações clientelistas para obter tais recursos, condicionada e corriqueiramente, pelo alinhamento político-ideológico. A escassez de serviços públicos favorecia a dependência do setor privado e a comercialização da saúde em diferentes situações. As grandes distâncias e a ausência de serviços públicos nas proximidades dos municípios rurais remotos tornavam a oferta do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) local eminentemente dependente do contrato com prestadores privados que negociavam no varejo ou por meio de pacotes de serviços. Por fim, na esteira das necessidades não atendidas e dos vazios assistenciais, nos municípios rurais remotos, agentes do mercado da saúde - empresas de fornecimento de insumos, consultorias, profissionais de saúde e serviços de transporte - ocupavam as brechas da provisão pública, algumas vezes controlando preços, oferta e disponibilidade dos serviços.

Se analizan las dinámicas de la regionalización en municipios rurales remotos y las posibles implicaciones de las brechas de la atención en la comercialización de la salud. Se trata de un estudio de caso múltiple, con enfoque cualitativo, que realizó 76 entrevistas semiestructuradas a los gestores del municipio, de la región y del estado. Los resultados mostraron que, principalmente en los estados de la Región Norte, el diseño regional no reflejó la dinámica social de las poblaciones y creó flujos inadecuados y rutas indeseables. La agenda política municipal frecuentemente priorizó intereses dispares a la regionalización y los temas de ruralidad no movilizaron a los gestores para construir una planificación regional específica. Las enmiendas parlamentarias fueron esenciales para invertir en sanidad, y los gestores señalaron las relaciones clientelares para obtener estos recursos, muchas veces condicionadas por el alineamiento político-ideológico. La escasez de servicios públicos favoreció la dependencia del sector privado y la comercialización de la salud en diferentes situaciones. Las grandes distancias y la falta de servicios públicos en las cercanías de municipios rurales remotos hicieron que la oferta del Sistema Único de Salud local dependiera eminentemente del contrato con proveedores privados que negociaban al por menor o mediante paquetes de servicios. Finalmente, ante las necesidades no cumplidas y las brechas de atención, en los municipios rurales remotos, los agentes del mercado de la salud (empresas proveedoras de insumos, consultorías, profesionales de la salud y servicios de transporte) ocuparon las brechas en la prestación pública mediante muchas veces el control de los precios, de la oferta y de la disponibilidad de los servicios.

Physicians' Perception on the Relevance of Healthcare Marketing in a Tertiary Hospital, South-West, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Developing nations like Nigeria lose an appreciable percentage of their revenue through medical tourism. The majority of the elite class is not even aware that some of the Medical care sourced in the western climes can readily be accessed locally in some of the healthcare facilities around, amounting to a load of missed opportunities some of which would have been avoided through effective healthcare marketing. This study assessed the perception of healthcare providers on healthcare marketing in Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. METHODOLOGY: This is a cross-sectional study. Data collection was by simple random sampling with the aid of a self-administered questionnaire among 190 medical doctors working at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife. The quantitative data were entered and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 22. Univariate and bivariate modes of analysis were employed to determine associations between socio-demographic characteristics and the perception of healthcare providers on healthcare marketing. The level of significance was defined at a 95%, confidence interval (p<0.005). RESULTS: The majority of the respondents (79.6%) had good knowledge about services rendered in the facility and a good perception (86.9%) about healthcare marketing with significant association with their specialties as more of the surgically related specialties (93%) recommended healthcare marketing. Among the respondents, (85.6%) agreed that public hospitals have to provide information about the services they offer; (93.4%) agreed that patients have the right to receive information about the services offered, and (63.5%) did not agree that marketing in healthcare is unethical. More than sixty percent of the respondents (62.3%) agreed that healthcare marketing will reduce medical tourism and improve service quality (74.3%). Majority (85%) of the respondents recommended that their healthcare facility should invest in healthcare marketing. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that a high proportion of healthcare providers have a good perception of healthcare marketing and will support their facility's investment in it as this will improve the quality services and increase patients patronage within the health sector.

CONTEXTE: Les nations en développement comme le Nigéria perdent une part appréciable de leurs revenus à cause du tourisme médical. La majorité de la classe élite n'est même pas consciente que certains des soins médicaux recherchés en Occident peuvent être facilement accessibles localement dans certaines installations de santé, ce qui entraîne des occasions manquées qui auraient pu être évitées par un marketing efficace des soins de santé. Cette étude a évalué la perception des prestataires de soins de santé sur le marketing des soins de santé à l'hôpital universitaire Obafemi Awolowo, Ile Ife, État d'Osun, Nigéria. MÉTHODOLOGIE: Il s'agit d'une étude transversale. La collecte de données a été réalisée par échantillonnage aléatoire simple à l'aide d'un questionnaire auto-administré auprès de 190 médecins travaillant à l'hôpital universitaire Obafemi Awolowo, Ile-Ife. Les données quantitatives ont été saisies et analysées à l'aide du logiciel IBM SPSS Statistics version 22. Des modes d'analyse univariée et bivariée ont été employés pour déterminer les associations entre les caractéristiques sociodémographiques et la perception des prestataires de soins de santé sur le marketing des soins de santé. Le niveau de signification a été défini à un intervalle de confiance de 95 % (p<0,005). RÉSULTATS: La majorité des répondants (79,6 %) avaient une bonne connaissance des services rendus dans l'établissement et une bonne perception (86,9 %) du marketing des soins de santé, avec une association significative avec leurs spécialités, car plus de spécialités chirurgicales (93%) recommandaient le marketing des soins de santé. Parmi les répondants, 85,6 % étaient d'accord pour dire que les hôpitaux publics doivent fournir des informations sur les services qu'ils offrent ; 93,4 % étaient d'accord pour dire que les patients ont le droit de recevoir des informations sur les services offerts, et 63,5 % n'étaient pas d'accord pour dire que le marketing dans le domaine de la santé est contraire à l'éthique. Plus de soixante pour cent des répondants (62,3 %) étaient d'accord pour dire que le marketing des soins de santé réduirait le tourisme médical et améliorerait la qualité des services (74,3 %). La majorité (85 %) des répondants ont recommandé que leur établissement de soins de santé investisse dans le marketing des soins de santé. CONCLUSION: L'étude a révélé qu'une forte proportion de prestataires de soins de santé ont une bonne perception du marketing dans le secteur de la santé et soutiendraient l'investissement de leur établissement dans ce domaine, car cela améliorerait la qualité des services et augmenterait la fréquentation des patients dans le secteur de la santé. MOTS-CLÉS: Marketing, Marketing des soins de santé, Médecins, Hôpitaux.

[Marketing authorisation for rare diseases: The European regulatory perspective using the example of gene and cell therapies]. / Arzneimittelzulassung im Bereich seltener Erkrankungen: die europäische regulatorische Perspektive am Beispiel der Gen- und Zelltherapeutika.

Technological and scientific innovations in the area of gene and cell therapies, so-called advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), have contributed to the steep increase in treatment options for patients with rare diseases. They offer opportunities to address the underlying genetic defect by gene addition, i.e., the delivery of the gene of interest to the target cells, or by genome editing approaches through direct repair of disease-causing mutations. This paper outlines clinical evidence requirements in the context of marketing authorisations for rare diseases. Two out of fifteen gene therapies that have been approved in the European Union since 2018 are used as case studies: Libmeldy (atidarsagen autotemcel) for the treatment of patients with metachromatic leukodystrophy, and Roctavian (valoctocogen roxaparvovec) for the treatment of patients with haemophilia A. Special aspects of the evaluation of single-arm trials with small sample size and requirements with regard to the isolation and causal attribution of the treatment effect are discussed. The role of clinical data obtained under everyday conditions (real world data) to support the generation of evidence in the pre- and post authorisation phase is critically examined. Furthermore, the paper outlines aspects related to conditional versus standard marketing authorisations as well as aspects related to registry-based non-interventional studies in the context of market and patient access to urgently needed drugs.

Addressing the Marketing Practices of Medicare Advantage Plans.

The Medicare Advantage (MA) Program, home to nearly half of the eligible Medicare population, has recently come under increased scrutiny. Recent investigations conducted by the United States Senate Committee on Finance and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have uncovered marketing practices of MA insurance agents that "were not complying with current regulation and unduly pressuring beneficiaries, as well as failing to provide accurate or enough information to assist a beneficiary in making an informed enrollment decision." These findings come at a time in which MA programs are under investigation for denials of prior authorization requests that fall within Medicare guidelines for covered health services. In this Commentary we consider the backdrop for the growing scrutiny of the MA program and the implications thereof to its future trajectory.

Evaluating the impact of social media marketing from the perspective of orthodontists.

OBJECTIVE: In developed countries, orthodontists utilize social media platforms as a pivotal component of their marketing strategies. However, there exists a gap in understanding the broader perspective of healthcare professionals on the utilization of social media in healthcare service delivery. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the perceptions of healthcare professionals in Turkey regarding the integration of social media within healthcare service delivery. MATERIALS & METHODS: This cross-sectional study, conducted between January and February 2023, surveyed 378 members of the Turkish Orthodontic Society. The survey consisted of two parts: a demographic questionnaire with 28 items and a 21-item "Social Media Marketing Activities Scale," developed with input from three experts. Data analysis will include an explanatory factor analysis. This study provides a snapshot of orthodontists' perspectives on social media marketing practices. RESULTS: When participants' views of patient communication through social media were examined, 19.8% said they "thought it was right" and 80.2% said they "thought it was wrong". The treatment and treatment alternatives shared with patients through social media were implemented in 16.5% of cases and not implemented in 83.5% of cases. When examining the social media accounts used by participants to communicate with patients, 56.8% used personal accounts, 43.2% used professional accounts, and when analyzing the social media accounts they used for promotional purposes, 15.8% had personal accounts, 84.2% of them used professional accounts. More than half (59.8%) of orthodontists believed that communicating with patients on social media could cause legal problems. The majority of orthodontists (88.7%) followed their competitors. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of participants' use of social media posts for advertising purposes was low, and it was determined that the main reason for this was the prohibition of advertising in the provision of health services.

Artificial Intelligence-Generated Social Media Content Creation and Management Strategies for Plastic Surgeons.

BACKGROUND: Social media platforms have come to represent integral components of the professional marketing and advertising strategy for plastic surgeons. Effective and consistent content development, however, remains technically demanding and time consuming, prompting most to employ, at non-negligible costs, social media marketing specialists for content planning and development. OBJECTIVES: In the present study, we aimed to investigate the ability of presently available artificial intelligence (AI) models to assist plastic surgeons in their social media content development and sharing plans. METHODS: An AI large language model was prompted on the study's objectives through a series of standardized user interactions. Social media platforms of interest, on which the AI model was prompted, included Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter). RESULTS: A 1-year, entirely AI-generated social media plan, comprising a total of 1091 posts for the 3 aforementioned social media platforms, is presented. Themes of the AI-generated content proposed for each platform were classified in 6 categories, including patient-related, practice-related, educational, "uplifting," interactive, and promotional posts. Overall, 91 publicly recognized holidays and observant and awareness days were incorporated into the content calendars. The AI model demonstrated an ability to differentiate between the distinct formats of each of the 3 social media platforms investigated, generating unique ideas for each, and providing detailed content development and posting instructions, scripts, and post captions, leveraging features specific to each platform. CONCLUSIONS: By providing detailed and actionable social media content creation and posting plans to plastic surgeons, presently available AI models can be readily leveraged to assist in and significantly alleviate the burden associated with social media account management, content generation, and potentially patient conversion.

Branding a Plastic Surgery Group Practice: A Case Study.

BACKGROUND: You only get one opportunity to make a first impression. In today's era, that first impression is frequently a digital one. The authors' old digital brand "face" was stale and not a true representation of how they view themselves as a practice. In an evolving arena of competition and surgical scope, the authors felt compelled to engage in rebranding their practice. METHODS: This article details the steps the authors took to launch a new website, generate collateral branded material, and execute a social media marketing plan. The authors attempt to keep the outline general enough to be applicable to the range of practice types of the Journal 's readership, and present relevant results of the process. RESULTS: Samples of "creative" products are shown. Quantifiable outcomes were direct website traffic (91% increase), website sessions (82% increase), unique users (55% increase), page views (118% increase), and time spent browsing (100% increase). The authors experienced a 21% increase in new patient volume and a similar increase in total cases performed. CONCLUSIONS: This article outlines steps the authors took to rebrand their practice in the face of current challenges in the plastic surgery landscape and how prospective patients seek surgeons. Benchmarking the steps of a successful branding process is crucial and informative to developing and executing a plan. Although there are many potential contributors to the growth of a practice, the impact of our branding appears to be a significant factor.