Engaging individuals in their health is generally regarded as one of the biggest shared challenges by sponsors of care. Behavioral economics theory supports this conclusion. It suggests that people frequently don’t make thoughtful, reasoned decisions when considering their personal health and well-being. Instead, they often choose to ignore warning signs or minimize health risks—in other words, they disengage.
Where Are the Roadblocks? In a 2008 survey published by DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance, 90% of all employers and health plans, as well as 94% of all service organizations, ranked population engagement as the single most important attribute of wellness program success.
To engage individuals, WebMD Health Services relies on proven, proprietary methods and tools, as well as established, effective best practices in direct-response consumer marketing. Having assessed the health of each individual and, by extension, the larger organization, we can segment the population into groupings of “like” individuals. These segments can be described by their similar demographic characteristics, shared levels of health risk, or current health behaviors. They are often located at similar points along the patient-activation spectrum or readiness-to-change continuum, and they have common health improvement opportunities.
Once we have established these segments, we apply filters such as the WebMD Engagement Index. This tool quantifies the impact of incremental health engagement and identifies the most efficient communication channels to use to drive individual participation.
Finally, WebMD builds a strategic plan that matches communication vehicles and messages to each population segment. The plan establishes a communication schedule, structures creative execution, and projects response levels. The resulting online and offline communications feature calls-to-action that are highly relevant to the targeted individuals. Our personalized approach routinely results in engagement rates that dramatically exceed the industry average.
Click on the links below to learn more about the Personal Path to Health, our comprehensive approach to health promotion and management.