Date of Publication

3-2020

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Marketing Communications

Subject Categories

Marketing

College

Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business

Department/Unit

Marketing and Advertising

Thesis Adviser

Dave Vincent Mangilet

Defense Panel Chair

Rayan Dui

Defense Panel Member

Rajan Sadhwani
A'ron Renior T. Calpe

Abstract/Summary

Each year, children with special needs have to continue to grow in numbers (Kopetz and Endowed, 2012). On autism spectrum disorder (ASD) alone, there are a total of over 500,000 children diagnosed of the mentioned disability (Kopetz and Endowed, 2012). As stated in the fact sheet released by the Council for the Welfare of Children (2017), PhilHealth estimates that 1 out of 7 Filipino children are living with disabilities and their average distance to the nearest health facility is 5-6 km (2017 PIDS Study, based on a study conducted in two areas in the Province of Cebu). With the current population of children ages 0-14 amounting to over 7.6 million (Euromonitor, 2019) and the ratio provided by PhilHealth, the estimated number of children with disability is 1.09 million.

As of 2018, the Autism Society of the Philippines was able to identify 51 participating developmental-behavioral pediatricians in the country. These developmental-behavioral pediatricians (dev-peds), known to be the “sub-specialists” and determined as the secondary target market of this study, is responsible in diagnosing children within the autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sensory impairments, language disorders, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, and spina bifida, among others (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2018). The number of dev-peds registered in the Philippines appear to be relatively small, considering that there is a growing number of children in need of their services.

In a study conducted at the University of Washington (2009), data shows that early intervention of two years of therapy can “vastly improve symptoms' ' and often results in milder diagnosis. Psychologist Wendy L. Stone affirms that “There is no debate or doubt; early intervention is your child’s hope for the future.” Therefore, early identification is fundamental towards the improvement of a child as their brain is more plastic and potentially more malleable for the rerouting of the neural circuits (Shaywitz, 2012).

In this research, two (2) sets of the focus group discussion (FGD) was organized with the primary target market, known as the “parents” to identify the consumer journey of upon the discovery of their child’s disability and to enumerate the factors affecting the selection process of the school and clinic for their child. Key factors were raised during the discussion and were identified to be relating to proximity, facilities or type of service, and price points.

For additional support, several In-depth interviews (IDI) was conducted with the secondary target market “developmental-behavioral pediatricians” to further understand the process of child development and referral behavior towards a clinic. Similar with the primary target market, key considerations affecting the clinical referral behavior of the dev-peds are, proximity of the child to the center, specialty of the center, financial capacity of the parent and familiarity of the specialist to the center. A number of IDIs were also conducted with professionals from the field such as occupational therapists, physical therapists, speech therapists and special education teachers to give an overview of their practice as the main drivers for development.

In conclusion, first time parents of the children with special needs encountered difficulty in seeking early intervention for their child due to lack awareness and single point of entry (DeSisto, 1995). Also, the limited sub-specialists available in the country affects the chances of children getting diagnosed and seeking early intervention as it would take at least 6- 8 months before seeing a dev-ped. As a further matter, the lack of the communication between the parent and therapist may sometimes result to center transferee.

As part of the objective, this research aims to promote awareness in the early identification of the child’s condition and marketing approach for professionals in the field of child development and parents who wish to seek professional help in order to obtain a sustainable lifestyle and to secure the future and well-being of their child and the people in their community.

Lastly, this research therefore, addresses the lack of awareness concerns through digital marketing, social media marketing, and public relations. The digital marketing and social media marketing efforts will work hand in hand throughout the duration of the campaign. Digital marketing will highlight the development of a website that is supported by paid search engine marketing while social media marketing will serve as a secondary support to digital marketing through retargeting ads and user generated content. To culminate all efforts, a social event will be held on December 3, 2020 known to be the National day for people with a disability with another partner, Puzzle Cafe a known advocate for people with special conditions.

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Format

Electronic

Keywords

Child mental health services—Internet marketing

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Embargo Period

8-16-2022

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