Consumer search and satisfaction with mental health services

• Published in: The Journal of services marketing 2016-01, Vol.30 (7), p.736-748
• Main Authors: Larson, Lindsay R.L., Bock, Dora Elizabeth
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Consumers; Decision making; Decision theory; Health services; Hypotheses; Information sources; Internet; Internet access; Medical referrals; Mental disorders; Mental health; Mental health care; Patient satisfaction; Patients; Researchers; Studies; Websites
• ISSN: 0887-6045; 2054-1651
• DOI: 10.1108/JSM-09-2015-0281

Purpose Recent evidence on consumer decision-making suggests that highly complex choice scenarios lead consumers to use simplistic decision heuristics, often resulting in suboptimal decision-making. This study aims to investigate the relationships among consumers’ primary information source, patient satisfaction and patient well-being, specifically focused on the search for mental health professionals. The selection of a mental health provider is of interest, because practitioners work from a highly diverse set of theoretical bases, may hold a wide range of different credentials and provide drastically different therapeutic approaches, therefore making the selection complex and difficult for consumers to self-navigate. Design/methodology/approach Three studies were undertaken, with data sampling from both patients of mental health services and practitioners. Findings Consumers selecting a provider based on self-performed searches, rather than receiving external input (referrals from physicians, relatives or friends), report lower satisfaction with their mental health provider. In turn, patient satisfaction positively impacts patient well-being. Practitioner data corroborate these findings, revealing that a large percentage of patients stem from a self-performed internet search, though mental health providers recognize that external referrals are likely to lead to better outcomes. Originality/value The results reveal the importance of understanding the consumer search and, particularly, the use of the internet as a search tool. The results present several implications for service providers, including the need to identify patients’ primary source utilized within an information search, as it can adversely impact patient satisfaction.