An empirical analysis of the public’s attitudes toward advertising chiropractic services: A comparative cross-sectional study

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate current attitudes and opinions about chiropractors' advertising and to compare them to the attitudes expressed eight years ago. This study was designed to determine (a) consumers' attitudes toward advertising by chiropractors, (b) which media consumers feel are appropriate for chiropractors' advertising, (c) whether consumers are seeing chiropractors' advertising, and (d) if so, through which media. It replicates a survey conducted in 2008 and uses a very similar questionnaire and the same general population to compare responses longitudinally. Both the 2008 and 2016 respondents agreed that the public would be provided useful information through advertising by chiropractors, and both groups also believed it is proper for chiropractors to advertise. The study seems to confirm the belief of many marketing professionals that advertising and marketing clearly have a place in the future of health-care services.

Nonprofit Versus For-Profit Health Care Competition: How Service Mix Makes Nonprofit Hospitals More Profitable

“…However, given these caveats, the following list offers several recommendations from our findings that are at least worthy of future inquiry for investors, patients, physicians, hospital suppliers, philanthropists, insurance companies, Medicare, policy makers, and regulators. Hospital vendors offering cutting-edge medical devices and pharmaceutical firms launching innovative drugs might focus on nonprofits. A hospital’s expansion of PSMS potentially facilitates donations by providing direct opportunities for naming rights and associated benefits. Thus, nonprofits might favor tangible growth (e.g., buildings) over intellectual capital growth. Insurers should consider that more competitive markets might require greater reimbursements for nonprofit medical services. The need to reach larger geographic target markets may explain nonprofit hospitals’ advertising, suggesting an alternative to popular views that advertising is wasteful and self-serving (Moser and Freeman 2014). Although patients often visit hospitals for specific procedures, they might benefit from having broader nonprofit PSMS available in the event of possible unexpected diagnoses or complications. Having more PSMS can create a competitive advantage because PSMS staff can perform non-PSMS functions when necessary, but the reverse is seldom true. …”

“…The need to reach larger geographic target markets may explain nonprofit hospitals’ advertising, suggesting an alternative to popular views that advertising is wasteful and self-serving (Moser and Freeman 2014).…”