Health care consumption and consumer social class: a different look at the patient

Both the need and potential for market segmentation in the health care industry have grown substantially. Social class, a consumer behavior construct applied widely in other marketing contexts, may be useful as a basis for health care segmentation. Using a random sample of 997 households in the Pacific Northwest, the author investigates health care attitudes and behaviors across social class groups. Social class is found to be related positively and significantly to several aspects of health care, including personal health, interest, expenditures, satisfaction, and switching behavior.