Communication choices of the uninsured: implications for health marketing

According to published scholarship on health services usage, an increasing number of Americans do not have health insurance coverage. The strong relationship between insurance coverage and health services utilization highlights the importance of reaching out to the uninsured via prevention campaigns and communication messages. This article examines the communication choices of the uninsured, documenting that the uninsured are more likely to consume entertainment-based television and are less likely to read, watch, and listen to information-based media. It further documents the positive relationship between interpersonal communication, community participation, and health insurance coverage. The entertainment-heavy media consumption patterns of the uninsured suggests the relevance of developing health marketing strategies that consider entertainment programming as an avenue for reaching out to this underserved segment of the population.