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A look at how
different cultures deal with health, sickness and prevention.
Over the years we have worked on numerous insight and
customer engagement projects in health and health related areas. Splitting my
time between Singapore and Australia we have recently researched health and
health care motivations in South East Asia. The way different cultures deal
with health is very different, interesting and relevant for pharmaceutical,
supplement, food and health care companies.
In Asia, as more and more Western influences are adopted,
the cultural self-understanding is changing. Conversely, in Australia, with a
fast growing Asian population, the adoption of Asian influences in health and
well-being continues to grow.
Attitudes towards dealing with pain and flu are a good
example to look at the different psycho:logic.
Germans try to avoid taking painkillers and medication and
get by for as long as they can. Only when they feel it becomes unbearable, they
will take medication, but then decisively. But not before telling others about
it and others making the suggestion they should take something and go home.
“I don't take medication unless I really
have to. You should try to get through without”
Then Germans do just that and go home and take their time
until fully back on board. It is well accepted that one has to then fully
recover before going back.
In contrast, people in the US tend to hide any feelings of
being unwell from their colleagues and often family. Not being on top of your
game is considered letting the team down. A good dose of self importance plays
a role, too. Thus medication is taken early, proactively and trying to push through.
“I don't like telling people I’m not
well. They depend on me. I feel like I’m letting them down”
Australians continue to portray a frontier spirit in that
they are more willing to get by without going to the doctor, take medication
early and strongly and literally ‘soldier on’ as one big brand advertises.
“Naahhh… a couple of XYZ and I'm good to go.”
Asian attitudes vary a lot between generations, but the
traditional attitudes and motivations still carry strongly even with young
Asians. Medication is still strongly associated with being natural, herbal or
animal based. These are considered to be medication as much as Westerners
consider pharmaceutical medicines and their efficacy is considered as good, if
not better. In the foreground is the motivation to use natural medication that
works with and supports the body and mind, while pharmaceuticals are often
considered artificial and counter productive in the long-term.
“I don't even take Panadol. They’re
drugs. It’s not made for your body. I take natural medicines. They’re made for
the human body”
The motivation is to recognise the feelings of being unwell
early and build the body up against it. The ambitious nature and the strong
family and peer interdependencies further drive the need to not be a burden and
to push through.
While some of the motivations are the same, the needs
fulfilment in each culture and every generation is very different. This is true
for dealing with pain and flu as it is with all other health related topics
like prevention, dealing with chronic ailments and life important issues like
diabetes, heart or cancer.
Brands need to understand that in approaching different
cultures, be it within one or multiple countries, they need to be trusted for
different reasons and that the brand or product features that will drive people
to trust a brand need to be personalised depending on the cultural needs.
HuTrust® is mext’s
proprietary tool to build and manage trust with customers and other
stakeholders. HuNeeds® is mext’s proprietary needs modelling approach. Both are
based on the most modern psychology, statistically sound and practically proven
globally.
By Rama Witjaksono
with Stefan Grafe
