Authors: M E SuarezAlmazor
Publish Date: 2011/08/17
Volume: 22, Issue: 3, Pages: 461-
Abstract
Social marketing uses marketing techniques to promote healthy attitudes and behaviors As in traditional marketing the development and implementation of social marketing programs is based on the four Ps product price place and promotion but it also incorporates the partnership and participation of stakeholders to enhance public health and engage policy makersThe “product” in social marketing is generally a behavior such as a change in lifestyle eg diet or an increase in a desired health practice eg screening In order for people to desire this product it must offer a solution to a problem that is weighed with respect to the price to pay The price is not just monetary and it often involves giving something up such as time eg exercising or a wanted satisfying behavior eg smokingFuture campaigns should identify target behaviors that are amenable to change such as bone mass measurement screening or exercise Audience segmentation will be crucial since a message for young women to increase peak bone mass would be very different from a message for older individuals who have just experienced a fracture Campaigns should involve key stakeholders including policy makers health providers and the public Finally success must be carefully evaluated not just by the outreach of the campaign but also by a change in relevant behaviors and a decrease in deleterious health outcomesDr SuarezAlmazor is the Director and Principal Investigator of the Houston CERT one of the Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics a multicenter research program funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality She also holds a K24 award from the National Institute for Arthritis Musculoskeletal and Skin Disorders
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