This coming May 5, 2025, we shall be celebrating two years after the declaration of the World Health Organization (WHO) that ended the global pandemic phase and the recognition of Covid-19 as a global health emergency.
During the time of separation from our communities, we turned to online means to move on with the rest of our lives. Meetings, huddles, and classes found digital spaces to advance curriculums and agendas, and hit quarterly goals. Our online presence and connectivity had grown exponentially in its importance and significance in reaching those we could not see face-to-face.
And while our healthcare practitioners, experts, and professionals were battling against a virus unarmed while facing shortages in supplies and limited knowledge, disinformation and false news ran rampant online. The healthcare industry suffered blows to their reputation and their audience’s trust.
The Filipino healthcare industry, in particular, still struggles to catch the attention and trust of the general public to this day after the casualties from health issues. The dengue vaccine controversies, wherein the public was initially unaware of the side-effects and where there were alleged linked deaths to the vaccine, and other vaccine-related incidents (measles, polio, and others) plague the healthcare system still. These instances, alongside the growing competition between modern medicine and “natural” remedies, have created a fear of vaccines amongst ordinary Filipinos who just wish for simple solutions against illnesses and diseases.
How can the healthcare industry rise from this situation?
Much like during the global pandemic, the healthcare industry must find assistance when it comes to bridging their services to the patients and consumers. It must focus on strengthening the consciousness, awareness, and education of its audience, even those that have shunned modern medicine. During the pandemic, they had turned to the government, development sector, and even assistance from corporate entities for support; these days, they must develop camaraderie from businesses who can repair their reputation, much like public relations and integrated marketing communication agencies such as NGP IMC.
The healthcare industry must perform an overhaul of their strategies when facing groups that are hostile and vulnerable to disinformation; there must be an awareness as to why previous communication had failed their relationship, and what actively drives people away from trusting science and medicine.
In the process of repairing their reputation, healthcare companies can seek the expertise and assistance of PR and digital marketing experts who can look out for trends, and in developing PR strategies and media relations to further their ideology and advocacy to showcase to the general Filipino audience what their core principles are. Reminding the public of the services that they offer to the public and the protection our healthcare industries can address the fears and worries brought up by the disinformation and conspiracy theories. Businesses and healthcare practitioners must be proactive in their response towards disinformation, without the hard sell of their products and services, to effectively catch the attention of the public and rebuild their audience’s trust once again.
With the mastery and resources of NGP IMC, healthcare businesses and practitioners in the Philippines can accomplish events and campaigns and publish stories that will strengthen the presence of their company and awareness of their advocacies across the consciousness of the Filipino audience.
We call upon the healthcare industry to seek assistance and support from PR industry experts to repair their reputation and guide their audience to opportunities to better their health and wellness.
Contact NGP IMC to assist your PR strategies today.