••• health care research
Aetna study: Gender, age affect health care views
Women feel doctors don’t understand their needs
The inaugural Health Ambitions Study, conducted by Hartford, Conn.-based insurer Aetna, which explores consumers’ health goals and the relationship between consumers and providers in the evolving health care system, finds that fewer women believe that their doctors understand their health needs, as 70 percent of women say their doctors are aware of their lifestyle habits, compared to 81 percent of men.
Men say they are more confident that doctors understand their health lifestyles. More than three-quarters (80 percent) of men say their doctor is familiar with their health goals, compared to 65 percent of women.
Still, 50 percent of women say they are very likely to take their doctors’ recommendations, compared to 61 percent of men, highlighting an opportunity to improve how the industry engages women on their health journeys.
The study finds that people, particularly women, are paying attention to their holistic health, as they seek resources that better support both health and well-being. If given an extra hour in the day, 60 percent of people surveyed said they would spend it on mental and physical well-being activities (67 percent of women compared to 44 percent of men). Forty-five percent of women say they have a stress reduction health goal, compared to 28 percent of men.
The study reveals the importance of providing simple, accessible solutions to help consumers achieve their health goals. Overall, respondents say it is very important that their doctors talk in a way they can easily understand (77 percent), have office appointments when they need them (66 percent) and offer access to other health care professionals to coordinate care (59 percent).
The study illuminates the health and wellness needs of the Sandwich Generation – those who manage the health needs of both their children and their parents. Encouragingly, nearly all consumers in the Sandwich Generation say their doctors spend enough time answering questions (85 percent), offer access to other health care professionals (84 percent) and have office appointments when needed (77 percent).
When it comes to supporting holistic health, consumers want access to resources that address mental health and stress reduction. More than one-third surveyed say they have a stress-reduction (40 percent) or a mental health goal (36 percent).
Doctors play a critical role in the network of support, with respondents saying it is important that their primary care physician be familiar with their mental health history (86 percent) and ability to manage stress (84 percent).
The study further reveals a clear opportunity to transform the way health care is delivered in the U.S. Doctors are seeking greater access to community and health resources to better serve their patients. In fact, over half of physicians (54 percent) say that mental health counselors are very important, yet only 7 percent say they have excellent access to this vital community resource.
Other notable findings of the survey include:
Younger consumers are turning to digital tools, more than older consumers, to improve communication with their doctor: 37 percent of those aged 18-34 say digital messaging and 35 percent say virtual office visits would be valuable, compared to only 32 percent and 17 percent, respectively, of people aged 65 and older.
While consumers highly rated privacy (80 percent) and data security (76 percent) as important aspects of health care, health costs were also a concern. Seventy-three percent of consumers indicated that the cost of care is very important. This ranks ahead of getting personalized care (71 percent) and coordination among health care providers (68 percent).
Providers in value-based care models have greater access to community resources than providers who are not involved in value-based care models. For example, 61 percent of those in value-based care models say they have very good or good access to nutritionists, compared to just 46 percent of physicians not in value-based care models.
Aetna’s Health Ambitions Study, conducted in December 2017, included two distinct surveys fielded by research firm Market Measurement. The consumer survey comprised 1,000 responses from consumers 18 and older. The physician survey comprised 400 responses divided among 200 primary care doctors and 200 specialists, all of whom have at least two years of experience.
••• education research
Study finds high opinions of higher ed
College ‘fulfills the American Dream’
A clear majority of families believe higher education is worth the investment and most students and parents are willing to stretch themselves financially to make it happen, according to How America Values College 2018, a national study from consumer banking company Sallie Mae and researcher Ipsos.
Sixty-six percent of college-going families believe they are getting a good value for the price they’re paying: 36 percent report they are paying a fair price, 10 percent say they’re getting somewhat of a bargain and 20 percent believe the education is worth every penny.
Nearly 80 percent of families say going to college fulfills the American Dream. Eighty-three percent of families believe the student will earn more money with a college degree and the expected median starting salary range after college is $40,000-$59,000. The importance of a college education is rising; 77 percent of students and parents believe a college degree is more important now than it used to be.
“It would appear that families are making smarter decisions when it comes to considering how they pay for a college education – which itself is seen as increasingly essential in today’s competitive job market,” says Julia Clark, senior vice president, Ipsos. “It is especially heartening to see more families recognizing and planning for this expense against the broader backdrop of general economic optimism; clearly the challenges of the recent recession are firmly fixed in the minds of college-bound students and their parents alike.”
Families, even those willing to stretch financially, are taking deliberate, resourceful and concrete steps to make college more affordable. Forty-five percent of college students are working year-round to earn money for school and 37 percent of students live at home with parents or relatives to save on housing costs. Sixty-seven percent of students are cutting back their spending and 24 percent of students are taking classes over a shorter period of time in order to graduate sooner and reduce costs.
Planning and ultimately paying for college involves terms and jargon that may leave families scratching their heads. When asked a series of true-or-false questions about certain paying-for-college terminology, 42 percent of families mistakenly believe work-study funds are automatic, more than 20 percent believe “free tuition” means college is free and 19 percent believe the sticker price is what college will cost them.
“How America Values College 2018” reports the results of 1,907 online interviews Ipsos conducted between April 20 and May 25, 2018, of 957 American parents of undergraduate students and 950 18-to-24-year-old undergraduate students. The survey sample reflected a cross-section of demographic variables in the United States. Respondents were able to take the survey in English or Spanish. The complete report and a related infographic are available at salliemae.com/americavaluescollege.
••• millennials research
What Millennials expect from brands
American-made, not so important
Millennials expect more from brands. From the shoes they wear to the coffee they Instagram, their brand choices are increasingly used to project values in public and online, elevating the need for brands themselves to be value-conscious. A report from media and technology company Morning Consult examines how the values and ethics of America’s most sought-after generation shape their consumer choices and what brands they admire the most.
The report uses data from over 2,000 interviews with U.S. adults and examines what Millennials expect from the brands they use.
Key takeaways include:
While Millennials are more globally conscious, it doesn’t necessarily mean they need their brands to be: While a majority of Millennials (52 percent) say helping people across the world is an important value in their life, the average Millennial doesn’t pay close attention to the politics of brands, isn’t open to boycotting brands over politics and hasn’t boycotted over politics in the past year.
How brands should navigate social and political issues: While Millennials do generally track more liberal, issues like abortion, immigration and gun control remain controversial to some extent. If a brand wants to win favor politically with Millennials, the least controversial political issues to take up include support for civil rights and gay rights.
Millennials are less likely to care about “American made”: Nearly four in 10 (39 percent) of Millennials say they would like a company much more if it made its goods in America, compared with 58 percent of Boomers who say the same.
Millennials have a strong affinity for tech brands: All five of the most-loved brands among young adults are tech companies: YouTube, Google, Netflix, Amazon and Sony.
Here are the most-loved brands among young adults, ordered by net favorability: YouTube (82 percent), Google (81 percent), Netflix (80 percent), Amazon (74 percent), Sony (72 percent), Pixar and Hershey (tie, 71 percent), UPS and Dollar Tree (tie, 69 percent) and Colgate (68 percent).
This poll was conducted from June 12-14, 2018, among a national sample of 2,202 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on age, race/ethnicity, gender, educational attainment and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
••• hispanic research
American Dream still real for Latin American immigrants
Would recommend to a friend
Despite low levels of public satisfaction with the current state of the nation, a study conducted for Seattle-based digital remittance company Remitly found more than half of first-generation Latin American immigrants (60 percent) would still recommend relocating to the U.S. to a friend, family member or colleague.
The inaugural study, conducted by Ipsos for Remitly, surveyed first-generation Latin American immigrants (defined as Latin American adults born outside of the U.S.) on their attitudes and experience after immigrating to the U.S.
The findings from the 2018 Immigrant Sentiment survey also revealed that nine in 10 immigrants believe the American Dream – the belief that everyone in the U.S. has the chance to be successful and happy if they work hard – is still achievable. This optimism is despite the challenges immigrants face like cultural barriers, navigating complex immigration regulations, finding housing, work and accessing services.
Among the majority of immigrants who believe in the American Dream, access to living standards and better education are the most attainable opportunities (according to 49 and 47 percent, respectively). Just under two in five reported physical safety (38 percent) and better access to jobs (35 percent) as the most achievable aspects of the American Dream for them in the U.S., while 31 percent say the same thing of free speech.
Among the reasons first-generation immigrants give as to why the American Dream may not be achievable, most say that it’s too hard to get ahead (59 percent) and one in five (19 percent) say it’s because they don’t trust the U.S.
If given the choice to do it again, one out of four immigrants (23 percent) would not choose to make the move. Among the 40 percent of immigrants who would not encourage family to relocate to the U.S. given the current political climate, more than half (59 percent) report this is because the immigration process is hard to navigate and/or because of racism (53 percent).
When asked about the biggest challenges they face as immigrants in the U.S., 31 percent cite cultural barriers, followed by immigration regulation (24 percent) and access to services (16 percent).
Looking at country-specific attitudes, nearly three-quarters of immigrants from Mexico relocated to the U.S. with their family (73 percent). Close to 50 percent of Puerto Ricans (47 percent) would not encourage their family members to relocate to the U.S., with 70 percent citing racism as the reason. Puerto Rican immigrants cite finding work (23 percent) and housing (15 percent) as the biggest challenges they face after cultural barriers (30 percent), while immigrants from Mexico name immigration regulation (28 percent) and access to services like medical and transportation (21 percent) as the biggest challenges. Twenty-nine percent of immigrants from Venezuela relocated to the U.S. to escape a dangerous situation, political turmoil or war, as a refugee. One out of four Mexican immigrants (25 percent) and nearly one out of five Puerto Rican and Venezuelan immigrants (18 percent) would not choose to stay in the U.S. if they could do it again.
When asked about both traditional financial services and mobile banking offerings, the findings revealed that 62 percent of immigrants trust mobile technology to handle their finances. Among the 38 percent who would not trust mobile technology to handle their finances, 71 percent say this is because they are worried about their data/privacy. Thirty-eight percent of Latin American immigrants in the U.S. get their financial advice from family and friends and 23 percent turn to news publications. Eighty-four percent of immigrants think traditional financial institutions are meeting their financial needs and 93 percent feel mobile technology/financial technology is meeting their financial needs. When asked what they associate most with money, 50 percent believe money provides stability/security.
The findings are based on an Ipsos poll conducted June 1-5, 2018 on behalf of Remitly. For the survey, a sample of 501 adults ages 18 and over from the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii was interviewed online, in English or in Spanish. To qualify for the survey, respondents had to report being born in a country other than the United States. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of ±5.0 percentage points for all respondents surveyed.
••• shopper insights
Deal-seekers still like in-store shopping
The power of touch
Consumers have a fervent desire for coupons and deals, even if it means making a trip to a physical store, according to findings from the 2018 Purse String Survey, conducted by Livonia, Mich., media-delivery company Valassis.
Based on a survey of more than 6,200 consumers, the study found that when shopping for apparel, shoes and accessories, 96 percent of value-seeking consumers currently shop in-store. Of those, 77 percent plan to shop in-store just as much in the next year and 15 percent plan to do so more. The top reasons cited for shopping at a physical store instead of online include being able to see or touch an item in-person (70 percent); the immediate need for an item (66 percent); and ability to use more coupons and offers in-store vs. online (65 percent).
The top three categories of interest for savings are groceries (93 percent), dining out/restaurants (68 percent) and health care items (62 percent). Non-traditional categories of interest for coupons and deals include travel (33 percent) and prescription drugs (20 percent).
According to the survey, virtual assistants are expected to play a role in how consumers save as the technology’s popularity increases. While voice-activated shopping is still relatively new, there’s an interest in utilizing it for savings opportunities. Of the 21 percent of respondents that own an in-home voice assistant device or smart speaker, 32 percent are interested in receiving coupons and discounts through those devices. This percentage is even higher among Millennials (48 percent) and parents (42 percent).
The research continues to support the need for cross-channel campaigns, as they are more likely to inspire a purchase: 81 percent of respondents like brands to communicate coupons and offers in both print and online so they don’t miss savings; 74 percent said seeing an offer in both print and online captures their attention; and 60 percent expressed that seeing an offer in both print and online makes them more likely to make a purchase.
The survey was fielded on redplum.com from May 15 through June 15, 2018. Findings are based on responses from 6,279 value-seeking consumers. This consumer survey has been conducted 10 times since 2008 with a focus on shopping and savings behaviors across a variety of product categories.