The Health Architect: Market Data as Your Building Blocks

Welcome back to CHM Micro-Credential, the podcast where we delve deep into the essentials of community health management. I'm your host, Dr. Tami Moser, and in today's episode, we're diving into market analysis for your community health program. Market analysis isn't just about crunching numbers; it's about deeply understanding the community you aim to serve. We'll explore both quantitative and qualitative methods to gather crucial data, from using internal health databases to conducting focus groups and community surveys. These insights will guide you in designing an effective program, from identifying potential collaborators to addressing barriers like transportation. As we navigate this foundational work, you'll see how it sets the stage for everything else in our program—from financial planning to program evaluation. Stay tuned as we piece together your comprehensive market analysis, helping you build a more impactful community health initiative.

Tami Moser [00:00:00]:
Welcome back to the community health management design podcast. I'm doctor Tami Moser. And today, we're diving deep into market analysis for your community health program. This is really about bringing it all together. Now you might be wondering why we're tackling market analysis so early in our 6 week program. The truth is this foundational work will inform everything else you do. It's not just about nbers. It's about truly understanding the community you aim to serve and the landscape you're operating in.

Tami Moser [00:00:33]:
Let's talk about how this connects to later sections of our program. The market analysis we do now will be crucial when we discuss competitors, financial planning, and program evaluation. For instance, understanding your market will help you identify potential competitors, as I prefer to call them, potential collaborators. In healthcare, competition isn't always about winning market share. It's often about finding your unique niche in a complex ecosystem of care. The market data you gather now will help you position your program effectively later on. Now let's dig deeper into how you can learn about your target audience. This is where the art and science of market research come into play.

Tami Moser [00:01:18]:
First, let's talk about quantitative data. This includes demographics, health statistics, and economic indicators. You can find this information in various economic indicators. You can find this information in various databases. Here are a few places to look. There's internal databases. If you're working within a health care system, you likely have access to patient data. This can provide valuable insights into health trends and service utilization patterns.

Tami Moser [00:01:45]:
Remember to always respect patient privacy and data protection regulations, and check with the IRB in your particular health system in case this is necessary for the types of database searches and data collection you would like to do. Next are government databases. The CDC, Census Bureau, and your state and local health departments offer a wealth of public health data. Websites like data.gov can be gold mines of information. Don't forget to search there. Academic databases. If you have access to university library, you can find detailed health and demographic studies in academic journals. And today, since you can often gain access through an external membership paid to a university library and then access all of the databases through the online system, this is now something that is available to most people.

Tami Moser [00:02:42]:
You do not have to be located near a university to make this work. Then you have commercial databases. While often costly, databases like MarketScan or ARP Opt's de identified patient data can provide detailed health care utilization and cost data. Now these are by far not the only options available to you, but there are 4 broad categories of data repositories where you can get information that can be useful in the market analysis section of this. But nbers only tell part of the story. And for any of you that have dealt a lot with nbers, you know this. To really understand your target audience, you need quality creative data too. Here are some methods to consider to gain some of that information.

Tami Moser [00:03:31]:
Community surveys. Design and distribute surveys to gather direct feedback from your target population. These can be surveys using Likert scales or they can be surveys that allow for short text answers or even long form answers. And that would require some coding and thematic analysis, but you can get some good data that way if people will take the time to fill it out. Focus groups. Bring together small groups from your target audience for in-depth discussions. You might consider putting together 2 to 3 focus groups that match the primary personas you identified early on to see if what you think you know is actually true and if you've got alignment there. And then you can adopt and adapt as necessary from what you learn in that focus group.

Tami Moser [00:04:23]:
Key informant interviews. Talk to community leaders, health care providers, and social service workers who have deep knowledge of your target population. Try to get a more holistic picture than you would get from just talking to one of those key informant groups. Social media analysis. Monitor social media conversations related to health issues in your community. And if you happen to live in a center where there are subreddit fors surrounding topics related to what you're looking at that tie to your community, those can be excellent places to get information. Community health assessments. Many hospitals and health departments conduct regular community health assessments, and these can be treasure troves of information as well.

Tami Moser [00:05:14]:
Although, you will need to have a good clear outline of exactly what information you wanna access and why, and I am almost a 100% positive that you will be looking at an IRB process then. But that does not make it outside the realm of something you can do. Just be aware. It can take a little longer when you have to deal with some of that. Let's remember the goal here is to build a comprehensive picture of your target audience. Who are they? What health challenges do they face? What barriers prevent prevent them from achieving better health outcomes? What are their values and preferences when it comes to health care? Now let's circle back to how this connects with later sections of our of our program. The insights you gain from this market analysis will inform inform your program design, your communication strategies, and even your evaluation metrics. For example, if you discover that your target audience strongly values community connection, you might design your program to include group activities or peer support elements.

Tami Moser [00:06:20]:
If you find that transportation is a major barrier, you might prioritize mobile health services or telemedicine options. When we discuss financial planning later in the course, you'll use the market size data you're gathering now to project potential program reach and impact. When we talk about program evaluation, the baseline health data you're collecting will be crucial for measuring your program's effectiveness. And when it comes to competitors, the landscape analysis you're doing now will help you identify gaps in existing services. Gaps that your program can fill. You might even discover potential partners for collaboration. Here's your expanded assignment. Start with the quantitative data.

Tami Moser [00:07:07]:
Use it use at least 1 internal and one external database to gather key statistics about your target population. Then choose one qualitative method we discussed to gain deeper insights. Finally, reflect on how your findings might influence your program design. What surprised you? What confirmed your initial assptions? How might this information shape your approach? In our next episode, we'll use all of this data to refine your unique value proposition and start crafting a compelling pitch for your community health management program. This is doctor Mosier signing off. Remember in community health management, data is your foundation, but understanding is your goal. Keep exploring, keep asking questions, and keep striving to make a real difference in your community's health. I'll talk to you next week.