The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #44423

Peter C. Olden, PhD, Graduate Health Administration Program, University of Scranton, Jefferson Avenue, Scranton, PA 18510, 570 941 4242, oldenp1@uofs.edu

Many health education and health promotion (HEHP) products, services, and programs are offered to the public to help people avoid health risks and improve their health. Yet, the public does not use these as much as is desired by health professionals. It is important to understand how people go about deciding which (if any) HEHP products, services, and programs they will actually use. Different perspectives can be used for this purpose. The field of marketing provides a practical model of consumer decision making that can be used to understand how people make choices in the marketplace. This model can be applied to consumers of health education and health promotion. The model can help health professionals recognize two important aspects of decisions to use (or not use) HEHP products, services, and programs. First, decisions are likely to involve multiple people in five distinct roles -- initiator, influencer, decider, purchaser, and user. Second, consumers are likely to go through six distinct steps - problem identification, internal search, external search, alternative evaluation, purchase, and post-purchase evaluation. Thus, decisions regarding HEHP products, services, and programs, are very complex. By using the consumer decision making model, health professionals can better understand these decisions and thereby better plan, implement, and evaluate what they offer the public for HEHP. This model can help health professionals put the public into HEHP planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) will be able to

• Explain a marketing model of how consumers make choices and decisions about products and services.
• Apply that model to understand consumers' decisions about products, services, and programs for health education and health promotion.
• Plan, deliver, and evaluate health products, services, and programs, considering how consumers make choices and decisions.

Keywords: Public Health Education and Health Promotion, Marketing

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.