Fine Health Panels: Thriving in the Hardest Contexts
August 2020
There is no doubt that the Insights industry is being severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. An ESOMAR study conducted earlier this year forecasts a 22% fall for all research related companies. In Latin America data provided by local organizations such as the Brazilian Association of Researchers suggests the hit might be even harder.
However the impact is not equal to all parties and approaches. While traditional Focus Groups and quantitative f2f are now almost completely out of the radar, digital tools are in much better shape and taking the advantage of an accelerated digital transition, that is likely to remain in the long run after the pandemic.
FINE has been able to witness the resilience of its digital methods in the healthcare space in Latin America. On the one hand, it has been able to run over 10,000 interviews with physicians around COVID-19 without need to push respondents with monetary incentives. This was run from March to July in the peak of the pandemic as described in an article published at the ESOMAR FOUNDATION providing evidence of the impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare profession.
On the other hand, a project conducted by FINE with the support of Toluna and Reckner Healthcare, have shown how digital tools can be used to get independent healthcare evidence in sensitive contexts.
The collected data exposed the dramatic situation in terms of nutrition, drug access and increased epidemic risk in Venezuela, in spite of the complex political situation in that country and the fact many citizens could have a legitimate fear to express their true opinions.
These platforms enabled for an anonymous participation generating evidence that would have been strongly biased if intermediated by an interviewer, as described by our article in Research World.
And this of course does not limit to these specific not for profit projects that could be easily shared since were publicly published. The same is valid in our many business research assignments and in fact at FINE we have seen an increased response rates in our client sponsored projects during the pandemic.
Physicians are showing a larger preference for online tools, and this is happening globally. Recent reports published by EphMRA and Intellus Worldwide confirm that the majority of HCPs are interested in keeping up doing Market Research surveys but strongly prefer a digital approach. Phone is only accepted by a minority and for very short surveys only, while F2F has clearly been left out of the menu.
Of course online engagement requires a long lasting relationship, a trusted brand name, transparent and solid procedures in full compliance with the industry rules and giving value to the respondents.
FINE panelists are getting exclusive content such as access to own surveys on the medical profession, evidence-based medicine resource with free access to DYNAMED, or involvement in not-for-profit campaigns to support renowned charities. This unique approach makes FINE, the leading healthcare research panel in Latin America in terms of volumes, timing, deliverability and quality.
Please feel to reach out to see how we can support your data collection needs with HCPs using our digital tools, writing to info@fine-research.com