Regular medical checkup behaviour : preventing is better than curing

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that drive or impede the intention of Indonesian consumers to perform regular medical checkup (MCU). Design/methodology/approach: This study begins with an ethnographic study to ascertain the determinant factors that motivate or hinder an individual from performing regular MCU. The study involved stakeholders in various health services providers, including patients and medical professionals. The quantitative part of this study focuses on “preventive” segment of consumers. A survey was conducted covering 303 respondents, consisting of two sub-segments of people labelled “healthy lifestyle” and “unhealthy lifestyle”. Findings: Consumer behaviour with regards to needs for MCU must be categorised not based on demographics, but their health status – preventive or curative. The “preventive” group was found to have differences in triggers and barriers between the healthy vs unhealthy lifestyle subgroups. For the “healthy lifestyle” subgroup, the determining factors for a regular MCU are the perceived benefit of action, social deviance, and cost perception. For the “unhealthy lifestyle” subgroup, the determining factors for a regular MCU are the social deviance, disease heritage, belief in traditional medicine, no urgency and cost perception. Research limitations/implications: The qualitative study part indicated the differences between two segments: preventive vs curative. The quantitative study part is only conducted in the preventive segment and not covering the curative segment. It would be interesting to see the differences between these two segments. Practical implications: Implication of study: to create contextual marketing communication in each stakeholders/segments – to reach the marketing objectives. Different segment has different issues to handle and need a different marketing communication programme. Originality/value: Previous studies have focused on analysing the differences in groups based on their demographics, which does not illustrate a homogenous need for an MCU. This study contributes by addressing that researchers must differentiate between “preventive” and “curative” groups. Additionally, the study of triggers and barriers has interestingly found that the determinant factors for healthy and unhealthy lifestyle are not the same.