Marketing Long-Term and Senior Care Services

William Winston

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781317941873
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Commerce
• Subtopic: Commerce Général

Here is detailed, practical advice for the administrator or practitioner of long-term and senior care services. Experts offer effective techniques for increasing the visibility and scope of those services through modern marketing practices.

Family Selection of Long-Term Care Services: It’s Not Just the Facility That’s Important

Scott M. Smith, Ph.D.

Scott M. Smith is Associate Professor, Graduate School of Management, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, [phone].

Census records long projected that by the year 2020, the number of elderly Americans will double and by 2030, one of every five people will be at least 65 years old. This phenomenon, caused by the aging post-World War II baby boom group and increased longevity, is expected to jump the number of elderly to 51.4 million, or 17.3% of projected U.S. population. In real numbers, this increase results in 25.9 million additional elderly.

Of particular interest to the long-term care facilities market is the group 85 and older (since this is the time period that health rapidly deteriorates). One federally funded study identified 17% of all elderly as moderately impaired and 23% as severely impaired. It is clear that the severely impaired make up the vast majority of consumers of long-term care services. Many of these consumers are 85 years or older. The 85 and older market segment is important, as evidenced by growth projections estimating an increase from the current one percent of the population to five percent by the year 2050.

In spite of the immediate and longer term projections of market growth, the vision and response of management are best described as limited. Management of long-term care facilities have traditionally focused on day to day operations rather than with market characteristics, changing service needs, or the process by which families select long-term care facilities. The purpose of this article is to increase administrator and director understanding of the market’s selection of long-term care services and the family decision-making unit responsible for facility selection. Decision maker perceptions of the importance of daily operations and programs are also provided for those directors responsible for the operation of programs and facilities.

GAINING A PERSPECTIVE ON THE SELECTION OF A LONG-TERM CARE FACILITY

Maximizing competitive position within the long-term care market is most often approached by comparing services and features provided by competing facilities. This approach, while fundamentally accurate, ignores the situational context within which consumer decisions are made. The selection and evaluation of a long-term care is unique within the service industry. It is both ongoing and intense for the family members involved. Current experiences and past decisions are continually focused upon by the decision maker because of the “care” or evaluation context within which periodic family visits occur.

Satisfaction with a long-term care facility is contingent upon the urgency of the decision, and financial implications of the decision, the felt obligation to the receiver of services, personal beliefs about consequences of the decision, and the extent of the search and perceived ability to differentiate permanent care options.

METHODOLOGY FOR THE SURVEY

This research is part of a larger study investigating the determinants of satisfaction in the selection of a long-term care facility. All persons surveyed were family, or in some cases friends responsible for the care of those persons currently enrolled in long-term care facilities. The names of those surveyed were obtained by convenience sample of records of 6 long-term care facilities in a major western U.S. metropolitan area. From the 300 persons surveyed, 135 useable responses were obtained. Of these, 124 were evaluated. This further attrition occurred as the result of incomplete or missing information on one or more of the variables included in the analysis. The response rate of 41.3% was considerably better than expected given that the questionnaire packet included only a cover letter and pre-addressed, stamped envelope for return purposes. The high response rate which occurred without prior notification, reminders, and incentives gives further credence to the highly involving nature of the long-term care decision.

THE RESEARCH APPROACH

The questionnaire items developed identified the relative importance of decision variables used by decision makers in the selection of long-term care services. The process by which the decision variables were evaluated consisted of three stages.

Stage one of the analysis provides an overview of t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• About the Editor
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• From the Editor’s Desk: Is the Future of Health Marketing Going to Be Directed by Videotex Systems?
• Marketing Long Term and Senior Care Services
• Marketing Services for Seniors
• Increasing Competition Will Expand the Healthcare Marketer’s Role
• The Medical Marketing Audit: A Technique for Today’s Competitive Extended Care Environment
• Positioning the Long-Term and Senior Care Service in the Minds of the Medical Provider and Consumer
• Challenges in Marketing Mental Health Senior Services
• Skilled Nursing Facility Marketing: A Better Piece of Pie
• Control of the Marketing Effort in Health Care Organizations
• Family Selection of Long-Term Care Services: It’s Not Just the Facility That’s Important