Strategies for Seeking Mental Health Services

Abstract

ABSTRACT With dramatic changes in the policies and practices of marketing healthcare to the public, providers of mental health services are being forced to consider strategies for more effectively and competitively promoting their services. Little empirical information relating to the manner in which prospective clients choose such services in a competitive, and often confusing, marketplace is currently available. The purpose of this study was to explore search strategies that might be used by consumers to identify potential providers of mental health services. In the present study, young adults were asked to rate the likelihood of using each of 19 empirically-derived sources of information in selecting a mental health provider. Factor analysis, as well as descriptive item analyses, suggest that, as is the case with certain other health care decision-making situations, consumers are most likely to depend on personal sources of information such as physician referrals and recommendations from friends and co-workers. In addition, several sources converge to suggest the importance to providers of establishing relationships with other professionals and with institutions in order to successfully market their services. Patterns of responses, including gender differences related to the likelihood with which certain search strategies would be utilized, have implications for model development and marketing strategy.