Marketing hospital based obstetrical services : the degree of involvement among nurse executives

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of involvement among obstetrical nurse executives in marketing hospital-based obstetrical (OB) services. A descriptive nonexperimental design was.used. The "Obstetrical Services Marketing Activity Survey" (OSMAS) and a "General Data Questionnaire" (GDQ) were administered to 90 Directors of Nursing (DONs) for OB Services and 90 Labor and Delivery Head Nurses (LDHNs) in 90 hospitals located in three southern states. The OSMAS was adapted for obstetrical services from an original, unpublished tool entitled "Emergency Services Marketing Activity Survey" (Byrd, 1986). Responses were received from 26 DONs and 23 LDHNs, representing a 27% return rate. On a scale of one to seven, marketing involvement was arbitrarily divided into three categories: 1.0 to .2.9 wa$ designated as a low level of involvement; 3.0 to 4.9 was designated as a moderate level of involve.ment; and 5. 0 to 7. 0 was designated as a high level of inv.olvement. The results of this study indicated that OB nurse executives overall were involved in marketing at the moderate level (4.86 mean). !-Test analysis revealed no significant differences at the .05.level in the degree of involvement bet~een LDHNs and DONs in marketing OB servic_es. Through descriptive analysis, it wa~ found that the health care industry, P.ar~icularly OB.services, is competitive in nature. It was concluded that OB nurse executives are becoming more involved in marketing their hospital-based OB departments~ yet they are not educationally prepared to engage in marketing activities.