Access to quality healthcare should be a human right. Unfortunately, the playing field is uneven when it comes to accessing healthcare in our society. Health disparities exist, and factors such as race and socioeconomic status, among others, can affect health outcomes. However, marketing communications can play a vital role in reducing health disparities.

Health equity is the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. Achieving this requires focused and ongoing societal efforts to address historical and contemporary injustices.

Working to improve disparities in healthcare can offer a chance to affect our nation’s overall health and economy positively. One study showed that racial and ethnic health disparities previously impacted the US economy to the tune of $451 billion.

To put this all in perspective, look at these specific examples:

• 2022 Census data indicates that Hispanic people comprised 19.1 percent of the US population. However, CDC data indicates the Hispanic and Latino population has a 12 percent average chance of developing type 2 diabetes compared to 7 percent for non-Hispanic White people.

• American Cancer Society statistics show that Black women have a 40 percent higher death rate from breast cancer compared to White women despite a slightly lower incidence rate.

• Black adults in the US have a greater risk of heart disease compared to white adults and all other minorities.

• The 5-year relative survival for all cancers combined is 14 percent lower among residents of poorer counties than among residents of more affluent counties.

Here are some ways marketing communications can play a role in helping bridge the health inequity gap:

1. Develop programs tailored to specific populations.

Inclusive messaging can help improve health equity and reduce disparities. By communicating in ways that diverse communities relate to and understand, we help bridge gaps by providing information to people that may have been previously hard to reach or make an impact on. This can be as simple as delivering messaging in different languages and culturally sensitive ways. Would you agree that the audience in an affluent suburban neighborhood of a large metropolitan city probably requires a much different approach than in a rural town with a high migrant farm worker population? Customized communications resonate better across various audiences and help show a level of understanding and compassion perhaps not communicated before.  

2. Hire a team that understands your patients’ unique point of view.

Implementing effective communication and interpersonal understanding during face-to-face interactions is important for increasing health equity. According to Pew Research data, only seven percent of US physicians and surgeons are Hispanic, yet about 81 percent of Hispanic adults who primarily speak Spanish prefer a Spanish-speaking provider. 

Healthcare professionals should not only speak their patients’ language(s) but also understand the different beliefs they might encounter, such as the prevalence of alternative natural medicines in some immigrant communities and that certain recently arrived immigrants may not have seen a medical doctor in a long time.

Marketing communications can create an organizational culture early on that helps schools and workplaces inspire and educate a diverse new generation of healthcare professionals by garnering interest and incentivizing students to pursue these careers. An excellent example of how to help create this culture is the effort to commemorate National Latino/a Physicians Day (Celebrating National Latino/a Physician’s Day! – Salud America (salud-america.org) started by doctors worried about the lack of diversity in the medical field serving a diverse population.

3.  Communicate with the whole family, not just the patient.

Although healthcare messaging may focus more on the patient here in the US, we can’t ignore the importance of including the whole family when communicating with some immigrant populations. Many immigrants often don’t speak English and aren’t familiar with the U.S. healthcare system. Family members, including children who may be teenagers, often help translate or even help their parents make important decisions. As a result, it is vital that we consider the family when trying to reach patients effectively.

4. Try breaking down misconceptions about end-of-life care.

Healthcare is continuously evolving, and some widely accepted practices in the US may be unknown or misunderstood in other countries and cultures. In the US, it is common for terminally ill patients to begin end-of-life planning at an earlier stage of their disease. Some people even get an early start to end-of-life planning even if they are healthy. This planning allows patients to select options for their last days of life, such as hospice care.

However, for many immigrants, end-of-life planning is a foreign concept, almost like telling the sick that their family or doctor has given up on them. This reality presents an opportunity to explain the benefits of end-of-life planning for the ill and their family. For example, a proper plan can include hospice treatment, which research shows can offer many benefits, including higher patient quality of life, lower cost, less painful symptoms, and increased comfort. Additionally, patients can spend their last days in a peaceful, private, and calm environment while often in beautiful surroundings. This is a better alternative than a hospital bed or at home, where many patients don’t have the proper care to minimize symptoms. A proper communications program can help explain the benefits of end-of-life planning in a culturally relevant manner while considering patients’ and their families’ sensitivities. 

5. Conclusion

Just like an illness that indiscriminately spreads throughout the population, health inequities put everyone at risk. Bridging gaps in healthcare is not only morally right, but it helps keep everyone healthy and can save the healthcare system money. Lezama Consulting USA is proud of our work in the healthcare sector. Our team has experience working with Federally Qualified Health Centers, medical groups, healthcare districts, healthcare programs, and pharmaceutical companies.