Research Paper on "Health Services Planning and Marketing"

Research Paper 6 pages (1691 words) Sources: 7

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Market Research Mini-Guide -- Health Services

Market Research Plan: Mini-Guide for Health Services

Market Research Mini-Guide

This market research process mini-guide is intended for the client to have an idea on how market research studies are conducted and know and understand the processes involved in the conduct of a research study. This section shall focus on describing each stage or process at a more general level. Its application and some of the concepts that will be discussed in this section will be mentioned or discussed in detail in the next section (Section II: The Proposed Strategy for Customer Retention). Each step enumerated below must be followed and this outline is the recommended order in conducting a market research study.

Problem Identification and Definition

For both the researcher and client, this is the first and most critical stage of the research process. It is at this stage that the researcher must be able to truly determine from the client the main research question or objective that the client would like to answer or achieve. While identifying the problem would seem to be an easy task -- it is simply identifying the question or objective that the client wants the researcher to answer or prove -- most of the time, questions or objectives are incorrectly identified or defined that results to incorrect direction or focus of the research. Thus, at this stage, researcher and client must work together to exhaust all of the client's questions in mind, so that at the end of the consultation, the research question or objective is correctly identified and defined.

b. Objective Formulation

Now that the problem or question has been identified, it is time to develop the problem or question into a clearly-phrased research question and main objective. The researcher must also include specific objectives as well, for the client to determine if its information or knowledge needs will be specifically addressed and answered in the research study. If a quantitative research study is endeavored, hypothesis statement will be developed. Optionally, criteria for evaluation or acceptability of study results could also be included, wherein an action standard will also be developed based on the results of the evaluation. (for example, an 80% or higher survey result for a specific indicator or measure would mandate an action standard like, "implement proposed strategy.") the research question and objectives will be the researcher's constant guide in determining if s/he is still on track or going in the correct direction at every stage of the research study implementation.

c. Research Design

Realistically speaking (that is, based on market research practice), research design is dependent on different factors, mainly based on the client's requirements. Opting for a quantitative approach to research design means the client would like the research results are representative for the target group or population it seeks to study and understand. A qualitative approach to research design, meanwhile, means the client is not concerned about the representativeness of research results, but would like to explore more about the phenomenon or issue under study and generate insights and ideas based on the exploratory study. Other clients would sometimes prefer a qualitative-quantitative research design, which, as a consultant I would call, a "full research program." The research study would be conducted in two phases. The first phase will implement the qualitative approach, with the objective of culling out important concepts, dimensions, insights and ideas about the problem under study. The second phase would be the quantitative approach, wherein all concepts and ideas generated from the qualitative phase will then be used in the quantitative study (usually in the form of a survey).

d. Methodology

This stage shall discuss in detail the logistics aspect of conducting research. The target population or group to be sampled, sample size, geographic coverage, respondent criteria, information to be obtained, sampling strategy, quality control during data collection, and data collection/fieldwork timeline are the important components that must be included in this section. It is both the client and researcher's guide in ensuring that data collection and the study would have the least error or bias in its data as possible. Research methodology would be dependent on the research design formulated, thus, a quantitative research design would only include quantitative methods in its implementation, and a qualitative research design would adhere to known qualitative methods as well. A quantitative-qualitative research design would then have a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods.

e. Data Analysis and Interpretation

The kind of data generated entails specific kinds of data analyses. Information from qualitative studies is primarily in the form of texts and narratives, and different qualitative techniques will be appropriate for the data analysis. Usually, qualitative techniques involve thematic analysis, development of matrices, and textual or discourse analyses as common approaches to understanding the data and using them to answer the study's research question. In quantitative studies, statistical analyses using specific software (SAS, SPSS, among many others) are used, allowing for a measurable and objective interpretation of the data and an alignment of the results with the research question, objectives, and hypotheses.

f. Report Preparation and Presentation

While the researcher and client are always reminded "to go back to the research objectives" at every stage of the research process, it is during the report preparation or writing stage that the researcher and client would specifically address the research question and objectives and see if the results have indeed answered them at the end of the research implementation. In report preparation, the researcher does not only answer the research question and addresses the objectives of the study, but s/he must also make a conscious effort to develop the report based on the framework of the study. Adhering to the framework of the study as the 'outline' of the report makes the report more responsive to the client's information and knowledge needs. Presenting the report to the client is done two ways: presenting in front of the client using a Powerpoint presentation, and submission of a full report in Word format.

II. The Proposed Strategy for Customer Retention

The proposed strategy for Mercy Health System (Client) is to develop a Customer Satisfaction Study to identify factors that influence and encourage customer loyalty, in effect, achieving retention of its clients/customers of its diverse health service offerings. As there have been numerous studies and literature on customer satisfaction in the healthcare setting, the Consultant would like to propose that the study utilize the quantitative research design using the survey methodology.

The objective of the study is to determine the factors that Mercy clients consider important and evaluate if Mercy Health System responds to these perceived important needs of its clients. Identified important factors that contribute to client satisfaction would then be considered and integrated in the market strategic plan that will be developed for Mercy.

Important information that must be obtained and must be given special focus in the study is the reported overall ranking of Mercy Health System against other health systems in the Client's immediate trade or target geographic service area. As a baseline, the researcher would use the results from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) to determine if Mercy's performance and ranking is above, at par, or below the standard or baseline scores determined from the ACSI. Below is the trend analysis of ACSI results in terms of healthcare service satisfaction in hospitals, on the overall (from 1995 to 2012):

American Customer Satisfaction on Healthcare, 1995-2012

The survey will be conducted in all Mercy hospitals. Conducting the survey within these hospitals would prove to be a challenge since clients would be specifically be visiting the hospital primarily for medical services, and engaging them in a survey would probably take up most of the patient's allotted time for the hospital visit. Thus, at best, the study would utilize a non-probability sampling… READ MORE

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