Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Winter 11-22-2023
Abstract
Medical tourism (MT), sometimes referred to as health tourism or medical travel, involves both the treatment of illness and the facilitation of wellness, with travel. Medical tourism is a multifaceted and multiphase process involving many agents and actors that requires careful planning and execution. The coordinated process involves the biomedical, transportation, tourism, and leisure industries. From the communication perspective, the process can be viewed as a 5-stage model consisting of the: (a) orientation, (b) preparation, (c) experiential and treatment, (d) convalescence, and (e) reflection phases. Medical tourism is uniquely situated in a nexus of academic literature related to communication, business and management, travel and tourism, policy and law, healthcare and health administration. Communication permeates and perpetuates the medical tourism process and does so at the levels of interpersonal interactions (provider-patient communication), small group (healthcare teams), organizational (between healthcare providers), and mass and computer-mediated communication (marketing, advertising, and patient social support). This process may, in some cases, involve high rates of international and intercultural variation. Further study of the MT process can help to gain a better understanding of how healthcare consumers evaluate information about medical procedures and possible risks, as well as the specific message features and effects associated with various communication channels and information delivery systems. Continuing scholarly efforts also should focus on the relationship between medical tourism and communication.
Recommended Citation
Mason, A. (2023, November 22). Medical Tourism and Communication. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. Retrieved 24 Nov. 2023, from https://oxfordre.com/communication/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228613-e-1461.
Included in
Advertising and Promotion Management Commons, Communication Technology and New Media Commons, Health Communication Commons, Hospitality Administration and Management Commons, International and Intercultural Communication Commons, Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Medical Humanities Commons, Organizational Communication Commons, Patient Safety Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons, Public Relations and Advertising Commons, Social Media Commons, Telemedicine Commons
Comments
Access the full article: https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.1461