Uncovering the Use of the Social Support Concept in Social Marketing Interventions for Health

Abstract

ABSTRACT The concept of social support has gained considerable traction in the areas of behavioral medicine and health psychology. Despite such interest, it is still not clear how the concept can be approached from a social marketing perspective. The purpose of this article is to examine how social support has been operationalized and conceptualized in health-related social marketing interventions. To attain this objective, a scoping review of field interventions was undertaken following the guidelines outlined in the PRISMA-ScR framework. The following electronic databases were searched, from inception until September 25, 2018: PsycINFO, PubMed, ISI Web of Science and Scopus. A total of 1820 academic articles were screened for inclusion. After applying the strict inclusion criteria, the final sample included 32 articles that report on 19 distinct social marketing interventions. The results revealed that interventions have operationalized the social support concept in connection with the key fundamental aspects of social marketing, including behavioral change, consumer research, segmentation and targeting, and exchange, as well as marketing mix and competition. However, the findings also indicated poor conceptualizations of social support and the underreporting of the theoretical rationale for the operationalization of the concept. Knowledge is advanced and can be useful not only for academics but also for practitioners, particularly concerning the improvement of the rigor in the use of the social support concept in future social marketing interventions.