HEALTH ACTIVATORS: KEY INFLUENCERS WHO … · to provide a deep look at healthcare decision makers. ... HEALTH ACTIVATORS: KEY INFLUENCERS WHO DRIVE ... KEY INFLUENCERS WHO DRIVE

© 2016 Kantar Health www.kantarhealth.com

EDGE OF INSIGHTOCTOBER 2016

HEALTH ACTIVATORS: KEY INFLUENCERS WHO DRIVE HEALTHCARE DECISIONS

CATALYSTS DRIVING SUCCESSFUL DECISIONS IN

LIFE SCIENCES

HEALTH ACTIVATORS: KEY INFLUENCERS WHO DRIVE HEALTHCARE DECISIONS EDGE OF INSIGHT: PAGE 2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................... PAGE 3

UNDERSTANDING HEALTH AND WELLNESS DECISION MAKERS .............................. PAGE 5

WHAT IS INVOLVED WITH BEING A HEALTH ACTIVATOR? ............................................ PAGE 9

HOW DO HEALTH AND WELLNESS DECISION MAKERS DEFINE “HEALTH”? ................. PAGE 13

IS THE HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE CHANGING AMONG HEALTH AND WELLNESS DECISION MAKERS? ............................ PAGE 17

CONCLUSIONS ..................................................... PAGE 25

METHODOLOGY AND SOURCES ........................... PAGE 27

ABOUT KANTAR HEALTH ...................................... PAGE 28

TABLE OF CONTENTS


01

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


Health and wellness can no longer be approached from a product- or disease-focused perspective. Today, healthcare is on an inexorable march toward a patient-centric approach. Some healthcare customers act as influencers and have a bigger impact on healthcare decisions than the healthcare marketers and providers who communicate only limited information about a product or a disease.

In today’s health arena an important group of customers influence and activate health choices not only for themselves but for others as well. We call these influencers Health Activators. They cut across age groups and gender, and how to appeal to them is based on their generational profile - their specific wants, needs, attitudes and behaviors. They wield their influence not only within the family but throughout a variety of venues and social groups.

No longer is the communication about health and wellness just about making it easier for the customer to digest the information. Rather, it’s about “smartening it up.” Marketers today must communicate with Health Activators in a way that deepens and enhances their role as influencers given their innate quest for meaningful information that they can share with others. Targeting these Health Activators with the information

they want, in the ways they prefer will move us closer toward significantly improving health outcomes.

Kantar Health combined its expertise in patient research and experience in health outcomes to take a closer look at who is making healthcare decisions, what they need to effectively make these decisions, and how decision making affects their lives. Using our National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS), the largest global self-reported general population survey in the healthcare industry, we are able to provide a deep look at healthcare decision makers.

KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE:

+ Health Activators challenge common stereotypes; they cross generations, include both men and women, and make decisions for more than just their immediate family.

+ Health Activators don’t differentiate between “health” and “wellness.” Health is more than just being free of illness; in addition, Health Activators define it as being physically fit, happy, well-rested and free of stress.

+ Health Activators need support because decision making can be a time-consuming and difficult responsibility. In fact, Health Activators make an average of 11 decisions for those in their care.

+ Despite making many decisions for themselves and others, Health Activators are often not fully knowledgeable on how to keep themselves and their loved ones healthy. Because of this, they are not always confident in the decisions they make for themselves and their loved ones.

+ The responsibility of being a Health Activator affects their work productivity and activity levels. Employers could provide more options to help support Health Activators in taking care of themselves and in assisting with the decisions they are making for others.


02

UNDERSTANDING HEALTH AND WELLNESS DECISION MAKERS


Health and wellness decision makers consist of two groups: self decision makers and Health Activators. Self decision makers compose 41% of all decision makers and are the primary or joint decision maker for health and wellness for only themselves. Health Activators, who make up 59% of decision makers, are the primary or joint decision maker for health and wellness matters for themselves plus at least one other person. Men and women are equally recognized as being self decision makers. While the perception is that the role of

caretaking is often assigned to women, in actuality men account for nearly half of all Health Activators.

Health Activators make health decisions for their spouses, children, parents and other loved ones. The majority of Health Activators (59%) said they make decisions for their spouse or partner, 36% said they are the Health Activator for their children younger than 18, and 35% said they are making decisions for the parents (either their own or their in-laws). However, which family members Health Activators make decisions for vary widely by country. For example,

Health Activators in Japan are most likely to be acting on behalf of their adult children (29%), while Health Activators in Brazil are most likely to be making health decisions for their parents (49%) and other family members or loved ones (33%).

As the smallest population segment, members of the Silent Generation (71+ years old) make up the smallest proportion of both self decision makers and Health Activators. Those who are acting as Health Activators are making decisions for their spouse or partner or for their adult children. Members of the Silent Generation are

DEFINING THE GENERATIONS

This report discusses the differences in attitudes among generations. Below are descriptions of the generations covered in this report, as defined by the Pew Research Center.1

Born between the early 1980s and the late 1990s, Millennials have recently overtaken Baby Boomers as the largest living population. The Millennial generation is projected to continue to grow as young immigrants expand its ranks.

Generation X is the “middle child” of generations, born between the larger Millennial and Baby Boomer generations. Born between the mid-1960s and the early 1980s, they were born during a period when people were having fewer children.

Born between 1945 and the mid-1960s, Baby Boomers are the result of the increased birth rate that occurred after the end of World War II. Once having an outsized presence compared with other generations, an aging population is causing their numbers to start to fall.

The Silent Generation were born from the mid-1920s to the mid-1940s. This generation is comparatively small because financial crises caused people to have fewer children.

BabyBoomers

B

Millennials

M

SSilentGeneration

GenerationX

X


*SSilentGeneration

BabyBoomers

BGenerationX

XMillennials

M

Spouse/Partner

Children <18

Children 18+

Parents (own/in-laws)

Other Family/Loved Ones

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

*No marker indicates 0%

9% 32% 36%23%

M

8%

3%

33%

23%

1%

M

54%11% 35%

45%

X

32%

26%

58%

S

S

S B

B

B

B

BX

X

X

X

M

M

45%

M

much more likely to be self decision makers in the U.S. and UK, while in Japan and Brazil they are much more likely to call themselves Health Activators.

Health Activators are equally likely to be Millennials (18-34 years old), Baby Boomers (51-70 years old) or members of Generation X (35-50

years old). Baby Boomers make up the largest proportion of self decision makers – 42% – which is not unexpected given their stage of life.

FIGURE 1

WHO HEALTH ACTIVATORS CARE FOR


While all generations are Health Activators for their spouse or partner, more parents and other family members are having their health decisions made by Millennials than by any other generation. The majority of children younger than 18 are having their health decisions made for them by members of Generation X (54%) or Millennials (35%), while children older than 18 are most likely to have decisions made for them by Baby Boomers (58%) or members of Generation X (33%).

Members of Generation X are most likely to be making decisions for a family member, with 70% identifying as Health Activators. Generation X falls into the so-called “Sandwich Generation”: responsible for not only school-aged children but also ailing parents.2 They are closely followed

VS

49years old

46years old

51%male

47%male

57%employed

68%employed

35%married/partner

72%married/partner

41%have children

71%have children

HEALTH ACTIVATORSSELF DECISION MAKERS

by Millennials; given the stereotype of being an “entitled” generation, it might be surprising to learn that six in 10 Millennials have taken the role of Health Activator. Some studies suggest that Millennials are taking on Health Activator duties for elderly relatives, such as grandparents.3

Across countries, members of Generation X are most likely to be Health Activators in the United States, UK and Germany. In Japan and Brazil, on the other hand, older generations are more likely to be the Health Activators. In general, people in Japan and Brazil are more likely to identify themselves as Health Activators.

Across generations, Health Activators are typically employed, married and have children, while self decision makers tend to be single. Millennial Health Activators stand apart from

other Health Activators. Millennial Health Activators are more likely to be single and more likely to not have children. Self decision making Baby Boomers are more likely to be single or divorced.

FIGURE 2


03

WHAT IS INVOLVED WITH BEING A HEALTH ACTIVATOR?


Being a Health Activator can be a time-consuming and challenging responsibility. Only 13% have the assistance of a professional caregiver. Caring for himself or herself while working can be difficult for the Health Activator, and many find it problematic to do their job and care for others. Forty-four percent of Health Activators said caring for their patient makes it difficult to fulfill their job responsibilities, with the biggest burden on people with children under 18 and people who are caring for other family members or loved ones.

Health Activators who care for patients and other family members have even more responsibilities, as they are frequently the Health Activator for several individuals. In fact, 28% of all Health Activators take care of three or more people. Members of the Silent Generation typically take care of only one other group, usually a spouse. Millennials and Baby Boomers are most likely to take care of three or more groups of people.

Health Activators are involved in an average of three or four illness-related decisions for each individual they make decisions for and another five or six wellness decisions for each as well. The top three illness-related decisions are the same for Health Activators of all groups: scheduling (such as

a doctor’s appointment), seeking medical attention, and adherence to taking medication. For wellness-related decisions, Health Activators for all groups are closely involved in nutritional choices, wellness check-up scheduling, arranging medical appointments, and vitamin and supplement choices. Health Activators for a spouse or partner are also closely involved in lifestyle choices, while Health Activators for children, parents and other family members and loved ones are involved in vaccination decisions.

Of course, Health Activators need support of their own, specifically from their spouses. About half of people who act as Health Activators for their parents or other loved one said they would like more spousal support in their own health and wellness decisions. Millennials, in particular, want their spouses to take care of them.

MAKING HEALTHCARE DECISIONS FOR OTHERS MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO FULFILL JOB RESPONSIBILITIES.


44%

Primary Decision Maker

43%

Children<18

41%

58%

Spouse/Partner

55%

Parents(own/in-laws)

Family/Loved Ones

49%

Children18+

Nutritional choices

Scheduling doctors’ visits

Wellness check-up scheduling

Arranging medical appointments

Vitamin and supplement choices

Seeking medical attention

Lifestyle choices

Vaccinations

Adherence to taking medication

42% 35%50% 35% 28%

40% 31%50% 37% 21%

38% 31%42% 29% 26%

36% 31%46% 35% 24%

34% 31%38% 25% 25%

33% 31%39% 31% 22%

33% 24%25% 21% 22%

31% 39%58% 38% 30%

30% 26%36% 28% 21%

Spouse/Partner

ParentsChildren<18

Children18+

Family/Loved Ones

FIGURE 3CARING FOR THE PATIENT MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO FULFILL MY JOB RESPONSIBILITIESHEALTH ACTIVATORS WHO AGREE OR STRONGLY AGREE

FIGURE 4WHAT KINDS OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS DECISIONS ARE HEALTH ACTIVATORS MAKING FOR OTHERS?



04

HOW DO HEALTH AND WELLNESS DECISION MAKERS DEFINE “HEALTH”?


Healthcare decision makers do not differentiate between “health” and “wellness.” For both self decision makers and Health Activators, “health” is defined as being physically fit, being happy, and being free of illness. Being free of mental illness and having mental acuity also are important to self decision makers’ definition of health, while Health Activators include being well-rested and free of stress in their health definition.

The definition changes slightly for Health Activators based on for whom they are making decisions. For example, Health Activators for children younger than 18 rate eating nutritionally balanced meals as an important component to health, while Health Activators for adult children find spiritual and emotional well-being to be important. Being free of illness

is not an essential part of health for Health Activators for parents or other family members, and being well-rested is not as important for Health Activators of adult children. Health Activators for children younger than 18 do not include being stress-free in their definition of being healthy. However, being physically fit and happy are included in every Health Activator’s definition of health.

How health is defined also changes by generation. Among self decision makers, being physically fit and free of illness are important across all generations. Mental acuity becomes more important with age, as members of the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers include that in their definition of health. Members of the Silent Generation also find having access to quality healthcare an essential component of health.

Being happy fits into the definition of health among self decision makers of all generations, except members of Generation X, who list being free of stress as an important component of health.

Among Health Activators, being physically fit and happy is part of the definition of health across all generations. Being well-rested and free of stress is important to Baby Boomers, members of Generation X and Millennials, while mental acuity is an essential part of being healthy for members of the Silent Generation.

Self decision makers and Health Activators describe their perceptions of their own health similarly. About two in five of each group said they feel their health is excellent or very good. A larger proportion of Health Activators rated their health as good, while about one-quarter of self decision makers said their health is fair or poor.

FIGURE 5HOW DO YOU DEFINE HEALTH?

65%physically �t

61%physically �t

53%happy

55%happy

57%free of illness

47%free of illness

50%well-rested

48%free of stress

53%free of mental illness

51%mental acuity/sharpness

SELF DECISION MAKERS HEALTH ACTIVATORSVS


VS

9%excellent

11%excellent

27%very good

28%very good

39%good

42%good

16%fair

4%poor

20%fair

5%poor

SELF DECISION MAKERS HEALTH ACTIVATORS

Health Activators are more optimistic about the health of their children than they are about their own health. Three-quarters of Health Activators rate their children younger than 18 as being in excellent or very good health, while 61% of Health Activators for adult children rate them in the highest health categories. No Health Activators for either minor or adult children rate their children’s health as poor.

Millennials have a more positive perspective on their health status, even though they believe their own health can improve. Among self decision makers, about a third of members of the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers and Generation X rate their health as very good or excellent, compared with half of Millennials. The proportion of

FIGURE 6HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR OWN HEALTH?

Health Activators who say their health is very good or excellent falls as they age.

Despite being more likely to rate their health lower, self decision makers’ health outcomes are better than those of Health Activators. Self decision makers report less work productivity loss; Health Activators lose significantly more work productivity than self decision makers in the dimension of presenteeism (impairment while working) rather than absenteeism (work time missed). Health Activators also have slightly more activity impairment than self decision makers. The impact of work productivity and activity impairment is more pronounced among the more heavily burdened Health Activators – those making decisions for their parents or other family members.



05

IS THE HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE CHANGING AMONG HEALTH AND WELLNESS DECISION MAKERS?


Health and wellness decision makers believe they can influence their own health and also recognize the importance of being knowledgeable about how to keep healthy. However, despite making many decisions for themselves and others, self decision makers and Health Activators often feel they do not have enough knowledge about how to keep themselves and their loved ones healthy.

This need for knowledge on how to keep healthy exists across all Health

Activators, regardless of who they are making decisions for. While all Health Activators recognize their need for knowledge, there are varying degrees of need. Health Activators for children younger than 18 are the most likely to agree that it is important to be knowledgeable about keeping healthy, and just over half say they have the existing knowledge about how to keep healthy. On the other hand, Health Activators for adult children are the least likely to feel they are very or extremely knowledgeable about how to stay healthy.

FIGURE 7INFLUENCE OVER AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HEALTH

FIGURE 8WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION NEEDS A TRUSTED SOURCE?

VS

66% 61%

65% 72%

34% 42%


One can in�uence one’s own health and well-being:

It is important to be knowledgeable on how to keep healthy:

I am knowledgeable about how to keep healthy:

VS

27% 33%

24% 28%

23% 25%

24%21%

27%19%

Medication/treatment related

Medication/treatment related

Healthcareproviders

Healthcareproviders

Health insurance Health insurance

Diagnosisand care condition

Diagnosisand care condition

Health and wellness Health and wellness


NEITHER SELF-DECISION MAKERS NOR HEALTH ACTIVATORS FEEL THEY HAVE ENOUGH KNOWLEDGE TO KEEP THEMSELVES AND THEIR LOVED ONES HEALTHY.


FIGURE 9DECISION MAKERS’ ATTITUDES ABOUT PHYSICIANS AND MEDICATION

FIGURE 7INFLUENCE OVER AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT HEALTH

FIGURE 8WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION NEEDS A TRUSTED SOURCE?

I feel that my doctor is very attentive to my needs and concerns

Having regular contact with myphysician is the best way

for me to avoid illness

My doctor knows about all the over-the-counter products that I use

I would take a prescription medication every day for the rest of

my life to prevent a disease I may be at risk of having in the future

As I age I am more concernedabout my appearance

I stop taking medicationwhen I feel better

I prefer to treat myself with an over-the-counter medication,

than to depend on a doctor to give me a prescription medication

As I age I am willing toconsider medical intervention

to improve my appearance

I like to see what my friendsand family think of a

medication before I try it

Sometimes I take other people'smedication even though it is not

prescribed for me

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

X66%46%42%

M

54%

29%

39%

33%

46%

34%

M43% 51%

45%

41%

36%

X

41%

42%

50%

S

65%

S

65%

S

S

S B

B

B

B

56%

BX

X

X

M

M

12% 21% 38%32%

S B X M

13% 20% 34%31%

S B X M

10% 15% 29%24%

S B X M

7% 11% 26%18%

S B X M

2%5% 19%13%

S B X M

M

SSilentGeneration

BabyBoomers

BGenerationX

XMillennials

M


This need for knowledge also exists across all generations, particularly among Generation X and Millennial self decision makers. Members of the Silent Generation are the self decision makers most likely to believe that it’s very or extremely important to be knowledgeable and that they are very or extremely knowledgeable

about staying healthy. Among Health Activators, Millennials are the most likely to say they are very or extremely knowledgeable.

Health and wellness decision makers lack confidence in the medical information they have access to and the health decisions they are making. Self decision makers are

even less confident about the medical information they have access to and are unsure they are making the right decisions. This lack of confidence extends to their healthcare providers and the medications they take. Even though resources, such as package inserts and pharmacists, are available to explain how medications work

FIGURE 10HEALTH ACTIVATORS’ SATISFACTION WITH SOURCES OF HEALTHCARE INFORMATION

Your professional caregiver

Your primaryhealthcare provider

Your pharmacist

Your health insurance company

Internet health resources(e.g., WebMD.com,

MayoClinic.com)

The pharmaceutical companythat makes your medication(s)

Public health �gures(e.g., Dr. Oz,Dr. Sanjay Gupta,

Dr. Nancy Snyderman)

Informal internet healthresources (e.g., blogs,

message boards, forums)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

100%63% 65%

M

28%

16%

41%

20%

23%

42%

M

54%59%

37%

52%

40%

X

29%

30%

38%

S

65%

S

48%

S

S

S B

B

B

B

58%

BX

X

X M

17% 19% 34%25%

SX M

10% 21% 38%26%

S B X M

7% 13% 35%22%

S B X M

M

M

X

B

SSilentGeneration

BabyBoomers

BGenerationX

XMillennials

M


and interact with each other, Health Activators still feel that information is lacking.

Once again, Health Activators who are responsible for minors have more confidence in healthcare resources than other Health Activators. However, with less than half of all Health Activators saying they are very or extremely confident in their healthcare providers and medications, opportunities for improvement still exist. Interestingly, the lack of confidence in healthcare resources is not due to a lack of trusted sources of information. Only between one in four and one in three Health Activators said they feel that trusted sources are lacking for areas such as medications, insurance, and diagnosis and care.

While the proportion of Health Activators who are very or extremely confident in various healthcare resources is consistent across generations, there is more variation among self decision makers. While members of the Silent Generation

have more confidence in their healthcare providers, members of Generation X and Millennials have less confidence, a perspective that drives them toward different resources. These younger health and wellness decision makers need more credible, self-directed information. Younger decision makers are less likely to feel their doctor is attentive or that having regular contact with their doctor is the best way to avoid illness. On the other hand, these younger decision makers are more likely to stop taking their medication when they feel better, treat themselves with an over-the-counter medication rather than a prescription, and see what others think of a medication before trying it themselves.

Despite Millennials’ having grown up with technology, they are not more focused on electronic sources of information than other generations. However, they are the least likely to see their doctor as the best source of information. Across all decision

makers, older generations are most likely to find their physician or other healthcare professional the best source of information about keeping healthy. Word of mouth, social media and the internet are all considered better sources of health information than advertisements across all generations. In fact, Millennial Health Activators are giving word-of-mouth recommendations on health and wellness matters more than any other generation.

Satisfaction with health resources is highest when there is consistent personal interaction, with the highest satisfaction across all decision makers being with professional caregivers, physicians and pharmacists. Satisfaction is considerably lower for resources such as insurance companies, the internet and pharmaceutical companies, although Health Activators consistently have higher satisfaction than self decision makers with these resources.

FIGURE 11WHO IS YOUR PRIMARY HEALTHCARE PROVIDER?

GP/FP/IM

Specialist

I do not have a primaryhealthcare provider

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

80%64%57%

M

16% 23%

20%18%19%

X

13%

S

16%

4%

S

B

B

69%

BXM

MSX


FIGURE 12HOW HEALTH ACTIVATORS PERCEIVE HEALTHCARE PROVIDER WHEN SATISFIED

Understands my economic constraints

Inspires me to adopt healthier habits

Discusses pharmaceutical options and alternatives

Understands my priorities

Helps me understand healthconsequences of lifestyle choices

Makes me feel I can disagree withor question his/her opinion

Accessible (I can easily get his/her attention)

Makes me feel safe to disclose personal information

Doesn’t over-sell products

Welcomes my input and respects my decisions

Proactively manages health-recommendsscreenings/tests/procedures

Discusses preventive care measures

Understands my symptoms in context of my overall health

Tells me what I must do to improve my health

Makes recommendations on how to improve my health

Provides me with the information I need to make decisions

Explains test results/clinical informationin a way I understand

Asks about and listens to my concerns/questions

Reports test results in an understandable way

Treats my symptoms 57%

54%

53%

52%

47%

45%

44%

44%

43%

41%

39%

39%

38%

37%

33%

32%

32%

31%

30%

25%


When satisfied with a resource, health and wellness decision makers trust it. However, when decision makers are not satisfied with a source of information, they do not trust it. Across generations, Millennial Health Activators are more satisfied with non-traditional resources than older generations are, which means they trust these resources as well. Therefore, informal internet health resources, such as blogs, and public health figures are a good communication target for Millennials.

When taking a high-level view, it appears common for health and wellness decision makers to have health insurance, a healthcare provider and employer-provided support, while having a primary pharmacist or professional caregiver is less common. However, the picture

changes when viewed by generation. Each younger generation distances themselves a little more from having a primary healthcare provider or pharmacist, while employers are providing more benefits for Millennials and members of Generation X than other generations.

The primary healthcare provider is typically a primary care physician (PCP), but with the coming of each new generation, fewer decision makers are identifying the PCP as their primary healthcare provider and more are saying they have no primary healthcare provider. Millennial self decision makers are one-and-a-half times less likely to have a healthcare provider than Health Activators.

Two-thirds of PCPs are male; 82% of male decision makers have male healthcare providers, while 53% of female decision makers have female healthcare providers. Female PCPs will be increasingly important as they provide a necessary connection to female Millennials. In fact, more than half of Millennial and Generation X women have female PCPs.

Decision makers are feeling the effects of physicians being time-compressed. They perceive a lack of discussion and focus on overall health and preventive care. Fifty-five percent of decision makers are satisfied with their primary healthcare provider, yet even when they are satisfied they still have somewhat negative perceptions of their physicians. More than half of Health Activators who are satisfied with their PCP say they believe their

PCP treats their symptoms, reports test results in an understandable way, and listens to their concerns and questions. However, less than a third believe they can question their physician’s opinion or that their doctor helps them understand the health consequences of lifestyle choices.This is directly affecting their belief that doctors do not spend enough time with their patients. Millennials are responding to this lower satisfaction and confidence in physicians by increasingly seeking information from other sources.

Despite 95% of health and wellness decision makers having health insurance, only 26% believe that it provides affordable access to trusted providers. The U.S. is notably higher than other countries – but still less than 50% - in providing coverage for trusted doctors and affordable medication. Older generations identify more services offered by their health insurance providers, such as covering trusted physicians (40% among the Silent Generation and 30% among Baby Boomers), affordable preventive care (37% and 28%) and affordable prescriptions (35% and 27%). Older decision makers also say their insurance companies offer more services. However, communications from insurances companies are less trusted given the low satisfaction – only 27% - among health and wellness decision makers.

MILLENNIALS ARE LEAST SATISFIED WITH THEIR PRIMARY HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS AND INCREASINGLY SEEK INFORMATION FROM OTHER SOURCES.



06

CONCLUSIONS


The healthcare industry is rapidly shifting toward partnering and engaging with consumers to help them make the best health and wellness decisions for themselves and their families. The industry needs to think differently about how to reach these health and wellness decision makers and what to say to them. The person a decision maker is acting on behalf of (self or for others) and the age of the decision maker influence the healthcare needs and issues being addressed. Communicating with today’s complex aging population means challenging conventional thinking in three specific areas.

BEYOND THE PATIENT ARE THE HEALTH ACTIVATORS WHO ARE INFLUENCING DECISIONS THAT SPAN GENDERS AND GENERATIONS.

These Health Activators are a core consumer segment for the healthcare industry. We’ve often thought of “Doctor Mom” and seen her in many TV commercials and promotions. We may even think in terms of the “Sandwich Generation” where women find themselves taking care of parents and children at the same time. However, it’s not just females of a specific age that we need to consider. We must consider both men and women as key influencers, and we also need to take into account the differences in Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. In fact, 70% of Generation X and 60% of Millennials self-identify as Health Activators. All of these Health Activators set the health and wellness

agenda for themselves and others, choose treatments, and hire and fire physicians, pharmacists and insurance providers.

ADDRESSING BOTH HEALTH AND WELLNESS IN THE MANY DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE MAY BE A NEW WAY OF THINKING FOR MANY.

Being well-rested and free of stress are important to Health Activators, which is not surprising given the role of the Health Activator is both time-consuming and difficult. In comparison, those who are making decisions for just themselves are more concerned with being free of illness, mental illness and mental sharpness. Generational needs and motivators also differ when looking at how “health” is defined. Some examples to keep in mind include the desire for the older generations to remain mentally sharp, Baby Boomers’ concerns of being free of mental illness, and Millennials’ having a more holistic view on nutrition.

PROVIDING MORE KNOWLEDGE VIA NON-TRADITIONAL CHANNELS TO HELP HEALTH ACTIVATORS MAKE CONFIDENT AND WELL-INFORMED DECISIONS.

There is a belief that doctors don’t spend enough time with their patients, as well as a lack of discussion and focus on overall health and preventive care. As a result, each younger generation of Health Activators is distancing themselves a little more from having a trusted healthcare provider and pharmacist. Instead,

they are moving toward social media and word of mouth. And although it might be surprising to some, Millennials can be a key audience for guiding decision making for our aging and complex patient population. According to the 2014 Pew Research Report, Millennials are independent and skeptical and see a “sick care” system rather than a healthcare system. As a result, communications should be crafted with the unique needs of Millennials in mind. They trust and use non-traditional resources, and they need more credible self-directed information and more freely given opinions on health and wellness matters than any other generation.


METHODOLOGY AND SOURCES

The data included in this report were drawn from a custom follow-up online survey to Kantar Health’s National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS). The NHWS is the largest healthcare database of projectable, self-reported, real-world, patient-level information. Prior inclusion in NHWS was required to link results across the two studies.

The survey was fielded July-September 2014 among 9,218 respondents in the U.S., UK, Germany, Japan and Brazil. Data were weighted on gender and age within geographies. This report is a continuation of the Center for Talent Innovation’s report, The Power of the Purse: Engaging Women Decision Makers for Healthy Outcomes.

Our colleagues at ghg | greyhealth group were communication partners in the original Power of the Purse study, and they coined the term Chief Health Officer. ghg collaborated with Kantar Health to create a follow-on study to the original, to assess the depth of the disconnect between women and their healthcare partners and to point to new ways to have a dialogue with women. The results of this study, along with a guide to winning behaviors for building trust between HCPs, the healthcare industry and the Health Activator, are presented in the white paper, The Gulf Between Them: The new customer and her healthcare partners

1. Fry R. Millennials overtake Baby Boomers as America’s largest generation. Pew Research Center. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/04/25/millennials-overtake-baby-boomers/. 25 Apr 2016.

2. Ianzito C. The New Faces of

Caregiving. AARP Bulletin. http://www.aarp.org/home-family/caregiving/info-2015/caregivers-profiles-depression-cancer-arthritis.html November 2015.

3. Bahrampour T. Self-absorbed

millennials? Not the ones who

are caregivers for their elders. The

Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/self-absorbed-millennials-not-the-ones-who-are-caregivers-for-their-elders/2015/10/24/32e474c0-7903-11e5-b9c1-f03c48c96ac2_story.html. 24 October 2015.


ABOUT KANTAR HEALTH

Kantar Health is a leading global healthcare consulting firm and trusted advisor to many of the world’s leading pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device and diagnostic companies. It combines evidence-based research capabilities with deep scientific, therapeutic and clinical knowledge, commercial development know-how, and brand and marketing expertise to help clients evaluate opportunities, launch products and maintain brand and market leadership.

Kantar Health deeply understands the influence of patients, payers and physicians, especially as they relate to the performance and payment of medicines and the delivery of healthcare services. Our advisory services, built on a solid foundation of market research and data, span three areas critical to bringing new medicines and pharmaceutical products to market – commercial development, clinical strategies and marketing effectiveness.

Kantar Health operates in more than 40 countries and employs more than 600 healthcare industry specialists and practitioners, including a high number of medical doctors, epidemiologists, PhDs, PharmDs and pharmacists, and biologists, biochemists and biophysicists. We work across the product lifecycle, from preclinical development to launch, and are experts at bringing multiple stakeholders together to advance the commercialization of pharmaceutical products. Our team acts as catalysts to successful decision making in the life sciences industry, helping our clients prioritize their product development and portfolio activities, differentiate their brands and drive product success post-launch. Kantar Health is part of Kantar, the data investment management division of WPP.

For more information on Kantar Health’s Edge of Insight report series, contact us at

[email protected].

ABOUT GHG | GREYHEALTH GROUP

ghg | greyhealth group, a full-service global communications company, is a pioneer in healthcare-brand building and communications. With a fully integrated, multichannel offering, including leading-edge digital, we’ve blazed new trails, creating big ideas that work across media, audiences, and continents. Our inventive solutions attract a diverse spectrum of clients, including pharma, biotech, device, diagnostics, vaccines, eye care, oral care, OTC, m-health, personal care, point-of-care, and animal-health companies. Ghg is a wholly-owned member of WPP, a global provider of advertising, branding and marketing.

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HEALTH ACTIVATORS: KEY INFLUENCERS WHO … · to provide a deep look at healthcare decision makers. ... HEALTH ACTIVATORS: KEY INFLUENCERS WHO DRIVE ... KEY INFLUENCERS WHO DRIVE