Paradoxes of social marketing in healthcare (in the context of COVID-19 Pandemic)

Abstract

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has significantly increased the role of social marketing interventions in healthcare at global and national levels. Planning, shaping and stimulating a new social product - behavior - has become the main agenda of health care systems. The article emphasizes the role of social marketing campaigns to widen public demand for vaccination and transform consumer behavior. The paper relies on the latest works of scientists working in the field of social marketing, official documents, resolutions and conclusions of governments and international organizations. Vaccine supply and demand ratio, serviceability and continuity of services, professionalism of medical staff and community readiness to receive vaccination are the main bases for ending the global pandemic. Particular importance is attached to the introduction and use of all communication tools to encourage changing consumer behavior. Psychological, emotional and physical factors has a huge impact on the motivation of the user to get new behavior! A group of „anti-vaxxers“ that are unfortunately politically, economically or psychologically motivated, are creating messages of vague, mythical content, thus becoming a serious barrier in fully ensuring the vaccination of the population. Appealing to unconfirmed, distorted information, myths, or conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 virus often leads to a syndrome of confusion and uncertainty, although mechanisms to combat the above are less effective both in the world and in Georgia. Confidence in vaccination and the government’s ability to communicate and successfully implement a vaccination program are critical to how well the government can inspire and maintain public confidence in the effectiveness and safety of vaccines. The authority of the state significantly determines the trust of citizens in the vaccine, which is well reflected in the percentage of vaccines in the world. The pandemic has deepened social inequality between population of many countries, lockdown policies provided by many governments hampered the social-economic status of workers. It is crucial to demonstrate the best practices of social marketing implications on vaccination campaigns, which will contribute to stop COVID-19 in the world.