Grow Your Home Health & Hospice Markets by Identifying Underserved Market Segments

As home health and hospice providers look to grow their overall markets, an effective yet often overlooked strategy is to focus marketing efforts on underserved population segments. In this article, we provide a step-by-step method to identify the underserved segments in a market, as well as examples of ways to attract more patients from these segments.

Steps for Identifying Underserved Population Segments

1. Select the segment(s) to be studied.
The usage levels of home health care and hospice in the U.S. by non-white ethnic groups has been historically low. This may be because of cultural differences and/or religious beliefs. So as an example, a hospice provider may select a specific ethnic segment to study, depending on the key demographic groups in their service area. Both home health and hospice agencies may also focus on patients with a specific disease-type that may be underserved, such as kidney failure.

2. Identify a statistic and source of reference.
To capture data on various ethnic populations, U.S. Census data for a specific service area can be found at www.census.gov/population/www. In addition, statistics on deaths by cause and by county can be found at local State Department of Health websites. Other sites that may be useful in finding these statistics include: www.demographicsnow.com and www.sitereports.com.

3. Calculate the portion of the market that each segment should have based on U.S. Census Data statistics.
In Suffolk County, Massachusetts, for example, Hispanics accounted for 16.5% of the population in 2003. Thus, you would expect approximately 16.5% of patients using home health and hospice to be Hispanic.

4. Calculate the portion of the market each segment actually has by using data provided by Healthcare Market Resources.
We provide usage of service data by market for both hospice and home health for individual agencies’ local areas. Because each service area is unique, it is important to be aware of local usage rather than using state or national averages.

5. Compare the projected and actual percentages of each segment to determine if the market is underserved.
If we use the 2003 Suffolk County, Massachusetts, data as an example: While Hispanics accounted for 16.5% of the population, Healthcare Market Resource reports showed that only 3.5% of the population using home health services were Hispanic. Therefore, Hispanics were an underserved population segment that presented a significant opportunity for growth for providers of home health in the Suffolk County service area.

6. Target Marketing Efforts on Underserved Populations
When providers identify an underserved population segment, they can use this information to target their marketing efforts on attracting this population. Some examples of this type of marketing strategy for home health and hospice providers include:

  • If Hispanics are the underserved population in your service area, hire nurses, aides and office staff that speak Spanish.
  • If African Americans are the underserved population, focus your marketing efforts on the local churches and clergy with largely African American congregations.
  • If you determine patients with specific disease-types are underserved, target specialists in those areas, such as nephrologists, neurologists and cardiologists.

For a more in-depth look at the end-of-life issues for African Americans, as well as information about racially-based disparities in health outcomes, see Racial Attitudes in America and the Effects on Health Disparities: A Perspective.

We hope this has helped highlight why it is important to be aware of underserved population segments in your service area as potential opportunities for market growth. Click here or give us a call at 215-657-7373 for more information about how Healthcare Market Resources Inc.’s in-depth, local market data – Home Health Market Profiles, Market Development Reports and Hospice Market Profiles – can be used to identify the underserved segments in your service area and ultimately maximize your sales productivity.