In definition, a contemporary health care management issue incorporates a current situation or topic influencing health practice. This report scrutinises the increasing role of media in promoting healthcare practices as well as analysing the influence of media on healthcare service delivery. This is achieved through an analysis of different forms through which the media influences public perception on healthcare issues, distribution of information related to healthcare practices. Also, the validity and reliability of the information provided by media in relation to healthcare issues as well as other ways in which the media has actively engaged in promoting general health factors. Subsequently, this report emphasises the influence of media on the development of services in the healthcare industry.
Based on the finding from this report, the role of media is significant in promoting healthcare practices. The media increases public awareness, enhances the distribution of health-related information, advocate for better healthcare policies as well promote the efficacy of healthcare management process. Comparatively, the media provides a positive perception of healthcare issues and hence influencing health behaviours and attitudes of the public as well as the promotion of healthcare organisation.
The media has established itself as a crucial part of the society by playing different roles in providing information about every aspect of recent happening around the globe. Initially, the role of media was to educate, inform and entertain. Although this is still the main objective of the media, its purpose has greatly broadened to meet the increasing demand for information. In this context, the media’s role is exhibited in providing information on current issues and affairs in the healthcare sector. Healthcare professionals have increasingly started to evaluate the purposive usage of different forms of media such as radio and television for shaping health behaviour based on a large audience (Moorhead et al. 2013). In modern society, the media’s role is not subjected only to analysing and reporting specific events but also to tracing new trends in healthcare as well as distributing valuable information to the public to strengthen service delivery and quality management practices to cope with the new emerging trends in healthcare.
The media is divided into mass media and the targeted media. Mass media is generally perceived to include radio, magazines, television, internet, and newspapers (Flora et al. 2010). These media tend to be useful in health promotion since they reach a larger audience as compared to the targeted media. The target media have the ability to spread its message to a specific target population. Targeted media includes booklets, newsletters, videos and computerised information systems. These media contain messages which are designed to be delivered to specific audiences and hence have limited ability to reach a larger number as compared to mass media. The healthcare industry collects data and directs it either to a target population through targeted media or the general public through mass media. The media is instrumental in designing media contents that are directly addressed to a specific target to inform matters in healthcare.
In many types of research, the media’s role in the healthcare industry has been subjected to discussion, and many practitioners in the health sector have acknowledged the influence of the media (Benelli, 2015). Currently, every healthcare organisation requires a “media Governance” to help in the implementation of quality management practices. This will, in turn, allow and demonstrate the value of media in promoting healthcare practices both internally and externally. The media is a channel through which health organisations can educate and inform the general public of matters related to their service delivery. The bulk of this report analyses the potential and current use of media in healthcare promotion.
The role of media in health promotion
In healthcare, the role of the media is to inform people on the current aspects on healthcare. This can include new treatments, outbreaks among others. The increase in demand for health-related information has resulted in the advancement of the media technology to cover the current issues around the globe. The preliminary role of the media is educating the public in order to achieve health promotion goals. The media is instrumental in providing and conveying information to a larger group (Ventola, 2014). Knowledge gain about health affairs is the first step in ensuring a healthy population and all desirable, important outcomes anticipated by health practitioners. This is achieved through education programs and campaigns on health through different platforms provided by the media.
Many healthcare organisations participate in education programs through different media channels such as social media to educate the public on innovative medical practices as well as showcasing blogs with health-related messages. The discovery and continuous flow of information on the media platforms give the patients and physicians the capability to streamline and filter the available information to gain knowledge and skills on healthcare matters. Also, the social media databases provide patients with social posts which provide information for what they are currently ailing. This acts as a supplement and extensive knowledge which the patient was unlikely to obtain from a physician.
The mass media is a well-defined tool for healthcare marketers in the bid to engage with clients on different platforms. One of the benefits attributed to the media is its ability to convey messages from different marketers for them to win clients. The digital marketing hierarchy demands all competitive stakeholders in the healthcare business to define marketing strategies which incorporate the use of mass media to promote their products and engage with clients on all media platforms that they use. The media provides numerous opportunities for healthcare systems to build connections, share discoveries and develop a substantial client base. Through this, healthcare marketers can develop guidelines to present their services and products through different platforms. According to Demi and Cooper (2015), 41% of patients indicate that the media affects their choice of hospital. This statistics represents a large margin, and hence the media has a huge impact on healthcare organisations in promoting their services and products as well as exposing the organisation to the public.
Public announcements on issues relating to healthcare can be made through the media. Public awareness is made possible through media in which the healthcare industry can voice any issues on health that require public attention. For instance, revealing any harmful drugs circulating in the market and giving warning on epidemics. It is evident that the many countries use the media as a channel of educating the public on emerging issues in its health sector. The media mainly focuses on bringing all details in healthcare and aid people in making better decisions.
The attitudes and behaviour of individuals in relation to healthcare may be influenced by the media. The media is instrumental in changing the overall public behaviour on specific issues in healthcare. The media occupies a significant part in increasing public awareness and the articulation of their attitudes and views toward health issues. Health agencies use the power of the media in spreading informative messages to the general public. Healthcare organisations are able to provide information to the public on new trends and medical practices adopted by the business. New priorities and practices are communicated to the public and therefore enabling the public to align with the new healthcare practices. Different studies on health care indicate that public awareness acts a key role in influencing the opinion in the public domain.
In the formulation of healthcare policies, the media plays a vital role in advocating for better policies (Othman & Elham, 2016). It’s the role of the media to act as a watchdog for the public in informing the public on healthcare aspects in relation to the political system. The independent role played by the media in creating the awareness of political intervention on health matters is critical in bringing into details of major political decisions which affects the healthcare sector either directly or indirectly. Through the media, people have information on what the political system is regarding their health issues. Correspondingly, the media exposes the issues which the policymakers need to review and thus to advocate for better health service delivery policies. Policymakers seem to attend to healthcare issues which are raised by the media and hence, fair healthcare policies are formulated.
Comparatively, the media has exposed medical techniques and practices in different countries which have resulted in the adaptation of these practices. The media acts as a promoter of new and existing healthcare programs in different countries. This is achieved through familiarising the public and the target audience with health behaviour change in terms of practice, product and services. Additionally, the media systems encourage the audience to participate and incorporate in programs adopted from other countries and thus resulting in the promotion of healthcare service delivery. The media has made globalisation applicable in many countries by making public awareness on healthcare programs from different countries. This has in return increased the demand for better healthcare services which matches the standards of service delivery in other countries’.
The media as a best practice in healthcare management
The media is associated with improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare systems. There exist different ways through which the health industry can utilise the impact of the media in improving management practices. This is by providing a conceptual framework which involves the distribution of information to maintain and improve healthcare activities. The activity of incorporating the media in promoting health care issues can be categorised as “best practice” since it’s a method which critically analyses healthcare matters with the aim of enhancing efficacy in a different healthcare setting. The relationship between the media and healthcare setting is shifting to a new dimension, and it is essential for all healthcare management to incorporate the media into their service delivery fully.
Many healthcare management decisions are based on information provided by the media. Hospital administrators make decisions based on other competitive health organisations strategies which are mostly exposed through media channels. The media provides health professional with current trends in the healthcare industry with the aim of influencing their decisions and switching to modernised ways of clinical practices. Subsequently, healthcare management is provided with a tool of obtaining evidence especially online, to support their arguments in convincing the healthcare organisations to adopt new strategies in order to maximise the impact of media incorporation in their operation.
The media ensures proper coordination of management process by providing a communication platform. As a best practice in healthcare management, the media improves the coordination of activities throughout the entire organisation. Different media tools are widely available for hospital administrators to improve professional networking, health programs and organisational promotion as well as improving patient care and knowledge. Hospital administrators have the capability to communicate decisions to their subordinates with ease, especially through the social media networks (Derby Berg, 2014). The media acts as a communication tool for the organisation to pass their message to the general public.
The validity and reliability of media information on healthcare
The media has had an advocacy role in a clear concise of healthcare issues all over the world. This has led to the establishment of measures and policies which dictate the availability, creditability and integrity of healthcare related information. The healthcare sector is a volatile criterion, and hence the information provided by the media is highly correct. The parameters set by the journalism have indicated a strong influence on the public’s knowledge due to its credibility (Seale, 2003). Subsequently, health organisation has established official sites to convey information relevant to the health of the individual. The validity and reliability of information and guidance on health matters provided by the media are proofed to be useful in enhancing health-related outcomes.
Most of this information is provided by accredited health practitioners who have substantial knowledge in healthcare matters. This in return ensures that the information is credible and consumers can base their decisions on media provided information. Also, the increasing reliance on health information has enhanced a sense of trust on the reliability of the information. The social norms have also impacted the degree of usage of health information provided by the media by instilling a positive perception of the individual. This increases the extent of the reliability of information and also proofing its validity in the modification of health behaviour and attitudes.
Conclusion and Recommendation
In summary, the media plays a critical role in promoting healthcare practices as well as a management process, decisions and distribution of information on health issues. Healthcare practitioners and organisation needs to incorporate strategies which allow the usage of the media in promotion of healthcare practices. The management should also utilise information on current trends in the healthcare industry provided in different media platforms to improve service delivery. Subsequently, hospital administrators should seize the opportunity provided by the media to educate the public on healthcare issues, the clinical practices which the organisation performs as well as products offered by the organisation.
The management should allow professional networking in the organisation. This involves allowing health practitioners to engage in online communities, communicate with colleagues and gaining expert views in regards to patient issues. Professional networking platforms will provide and discuss topics in the medical environment and hence increasing the knowledge and skills of practitioners involved. Also, healthcare management should utilise the concept of crowdsourcing which includes the integration of skills and knowledge from different professionals in different environments to solve, gather and form opinions on health problems. This will provide a new communication model in which practitioners can professionally exchange clinical information easier and quicker than before. The management should develop professional education which gives depth insight into the application of the media and encourage physicians to develop a culture which incorporates the adaptation of media information on health.
Since there exist potential risks in the reliability and credibility of certain health-related information, due to availability and distribution of unclear and poor quality data, the management should formulate policies that dictate the degree of application and reliability of information from unverified sources. Correspondingly, healthcare management should provide guidelines which protect and ensure the integrity which their specific organisations provide to the media. This is to maintain the credibility and reliability of information provided by the media. Lastly, the media should be used in organisational promotion for the benefit of the organisation.
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