For my last entry, I discussed the overlapping of mental health (Tourette’s Syndrome) and the social media industry (Tik-Tok). Today I’ll be discussing the role marketing strategies play in the mental health “industry”. I’ll be focusing my topic on the Vietnamese mental health industry, as their case is a bit more distinctive. In the country, there is a national program in place but it only covers a third of the population and fails to acknowledge several common conditions and disorders as legitimate.
The reason for this slow development stems from stigmas against the existence of mental health to begin with. Acknowledging the fact that a percentage of the population does indeed have mental disorders would be seen as shameful by the elders of the community. Also, those that would qualify for mental healthcare are less likely to request it, out of embarrassment and the fear of ridicule. The healthcare companies are aware of this and adjust their marketing strategies accordingly. They’ve decided to target young Vietnamese adults that live outside of rural areas. Using applications and online services has worked to grab the attention of the more open-minded members of the community. The only issue with that is the questionable morals of companies. Do they care about bettering the views on mental healthcare for the sake of those facing adversity or for the sake of their own bank accounts? After all, the American mental healthcare industry’s revenue last year totaled at 397.4 billion dollars. Compared to Vietnam’s 12 billion in revenue, the subordinate country has a lot more to gain from the government’s recognition.
Additionally, the current youth targeting model neglects the needs of the less fortunate who should be looking for help. In some ways it’s a lose-lose-lose situation. Impoverished citizens have a greater need for mental health care but they can’t afford it and are more likely to deny it even if it was being offered for free. On the other side of the coin, young city-dwellers can afford mental health care but have less extreme need for it and are being exploited for their money to an extent. Finally, the adults and elders of Vietnam are being written off as a lost cause.
Of course, the older population shouldn’t be ignored but the shift in focus makes sense when youth suicides have been rapidly increasing. A study conducted by UNICEF and the Overseas Development Agency found that out of 333 attempted suicides, 140 of them were done by citizens who were nineteen years or younger. They also believed that the actual number of citizens who’ve attempted or succeeded in suicide attempts is significantly higher than that. This is because again, mental health is not commonly discussed. Anyone who has attempted would be too ashamed to speak out about their feelings and those who are in their families may have claimed the followed through deaths as results of other things besides suicide. Those in the government would rather seek to find the actual cause of these teenagers distress and eliminate that as opposed to coming to terms with the cause of the suicides being the deteriorating of their mental states.
I suppose what really matters is that steps are being taken towards improvement. If the overall mental health of the country were to be improved it would take extensive regional research, patience, and acknowledgement of the truth. The conditions, resources, and outlooks are going to be different for each part of Vietnam so, a one size fits all approach is just not going to cut it. What would help the mental healthcare market the most is if the government acknowledged mental health to begin with. That would get the researchers feet in the door.
I think that this issue is so important and Im so glad that you have taken an interest on writing about this topic. As a psych major, I have seen the effects of what living in a country or society where your mental health takes the backseat to things like social stigma and ridicule. I am very glad that the US has grown to the level that we are now where we can have these open dialogues about our mental health and the importance of keeping your mind “healthy.” I think its also important to recognize that there are other countries that dont have the same privileges as us. I have studied that in many asian counties, the suicide rates among young high school to college age students are the highest because of not only the social stigma of mental health but the stress that these young people have to endure.