| Course | IHP 510 Marketing, Communications Strategies and Outreach |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 1 |
| Paper type | discussion post on commercial and social marketing in health care |
| Length | About 350 words, 3 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | MS Healthcare Administration |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for IHP 510 Module 1
Module One Discussion
Billboards for the Heart Center, Silence on Screening
Driving to work, I pass three billboards for Lakeview Health System's new heart center: a smiling cardiologist and the line Your heart, our expertise. Inside our twelve primary care clinics, about 42% of adults aged 45 to 75 are not up to date on colorectal cancer screening. We spend heavily to market a service that brings in revenue and little to market a behavior that could prevent cancer deaths. This week's readings helped me see those as two different kinds of marketing.
Grier and Bryant (2005) describe social marketing as the use of commercial marketing ideas to encourage voluntary behavior change that benefits individuals and society. Its core elements include research to understand the audience, segmentation into groups with shared needs, an exchange that offers people something they value in return for changing, attention to competing behaviors and the marketing mix: product, price, place and promotion. In screening, the product is the test and its benefit, price includes the time, discomfort and fear involved, place is where and how the test is offered and promotion is the message. A billboard addresses only promotion.
Evans (2006) explains that social marketing works by making healthy behaviors attractive and easy, much as commercial brands do, and by understanding what people value rather than lecturing them. He notes that successful campaigns, such as youth anti-smoking efforts, branded the healthy choice around identity and independence, which mattered to teenagers more than health warnings.
Wakefield et al. (2010) reviewed mass media campaigns and concluded that they can produce positive changes in health behaviors across large populations, but effects are strongest when campaigns are paired with access to services and supportive policies. A screening campaign that tells people to get tested but offers no easy way to do it will do little.
The heart center billboards are not wrong, but our health system's larger purpose is better health for the community, and that requires marketing behaviors as seriously as services. My question for classmates: what does your organization market most, and does it match what your community most needs?
References
Evans, W. D. (2006). How social marketing works in health care. BMJ, 332(7551), 1207-1210. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.332.7551.1207-a
Grier, S., & Bryant, C. A. (2005). Social marketing in public health. Annual Review of Public Health, 26, 319-339. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.26.021304.144610
Wakefield, M. A., Loken, B., & Hornik, R. C. (2010). Use of mass media campaigns to change health behaviour. The Lancet, 376(9748), 1261-1271. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60809-4
What the IHP 510 Module 1 instructions ask for
The opening IHP 510 Discussion usually asks you to describe how marketing is used in health care and to distinguish promoting services from promoting healthy behaviors. Graduate posts commonly run 300 to 450 words and cite at least two peer-reviewed sources in APA 7, with replies that add evidence or examples. Use a real or composite organization, define social marketing and the marketing mix accurately and apply them to a specific behavior. Explain why promotion alone is rarely enough. Close by asking classmates to examine what their own organizations market and whether it serves the community's greatest needs. IHP 510 graders notice clean headings in IHP 510 papers. IHP 510 names and dates need checking before IHP 510 submission.
How this IHP 510 Module 1 discussion example is built
This post comes from a health system outreach coordinator who sees billboards for a new heart center while 42% of eligible patients are overdue for colorectal cancer screening. Grier and Bryant define social marketing and the marketing mix, and the post applies product, price, place and promotion to screening. Evans explains how social marketing makes healthy behaviors attractive and easy, citing youth anti-smoking branding. Wakefield and colleagues show mass media campaigns work best when paired with services and policy. The writer argues health systems should market behaviors as seriously as services and asks classmates what their organizations promote. IHP 510 students can reuse this structure for IHP 510 work. IHP 510 claims here trace to cited IHP 510 sources.
Where the IHP 510 Module 1 rubric puts the points
First discussions in IHP 510 are commonly judged on accurate definitions of marketing concepts, application to a specific behavior or organization, use of evidence, graduate-level analysis, APA 7 and engagement with peers. Strong posts separate commercial and social marketing, apply all four elements of the marketing mix and recognize the limits of promotion without access. Posts lose points when they equate marketing with advertising, stay general or cite non-scholarly marketing blogs. Replies that suggest how a classmate's organization could reduce the price of a healthy behavior, in time or effort, show strong command of the concepts. IHP 510 marks favor careful formatting across IHP 510 sections. IHP 510 citations keep every IHP 510 argument credible.
IHP 510 Module 1 help: the mistakes that cost points
In week one of IHP 510, posts often lose points for treating marketing as advertising only, for skipping the marketing mix, for missing evidence and for replies without substance. Another frequent weakness is ignoring what the audience values. Define social marketing, apply product, price, place and promotion to a behavior, cite evidence on campaigns and ask a useful question. If your organization is a public health department or nonprofit rather than a hospital, add that to your IHP 510 notes so the post reflects its mission. IHP 510 drafts start well from a IHP 510 outline. IHP 510 feedback already received guides IHP 510 revisions.
Get IHP 510 Module 1 written to your instructions
Send the IHP 510 prompt and a description of your organization. The post will distinguish service marketing from social marketing, apply the marketing mix to a specific health behavior and cite evidence on what campaigns achieve, within 24 to 48 hours, free the first time. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Southern New Hampshire University document.
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IHP 510 Module 1 questions, answered
Where can I find a free IHP 510 Module 1 Discussion sample?
The whole post is here: a health system's heart center billboards compared with its neglected colorectal cancer screening, using social marketing principles.
What is the difference between marketing and social marketing?
Commercial marketing sells products or services; social marketing uses marketing principles to promote voluntary behavior change that benefits people and society.
What are the four Ps of social marketing?
Product, price, place and promotion: the behavior and its benefit, its costs to the person, where and how it is offered and the messages used.
Do mass media health campaigns work?
A major review found they can change behaviors across populations, especially when combined with access to services and supportive policies.
Why should hospitals market health behaviors?
Their mission includes community health, and behaviors like screening prevent disease in ways service promotion alone does not.