The research was conducted by Bambang Setyo Utomo, Hasna’ Titania Nabila, Mohammad Luthfi, and Tubagus Novalul Barokah, all affiliated with the University of Darussalam Gontor, Indonesia. Hasna’ Titania Nabila is listed as the corresponding author. The article was received by the journal on July 27, revised on August 23, and accepted on September 25 before appearing in Volume 5, Number 9 of the journal in 2026.
Why Home Care Services Are Becoming More Important
Healthcare is increasingly moving beyond the traditional hospital-centered model. Home care provides professional health services in a patient's home and can offer a more flexible option for people who need continuing care.
The journal article notes that home care can be particularly relevant for patients recovering after hospitalization, older adults, and people with chronic conditions requiring follow-up care. The growth of personalized healthcare services has also increased the importance of communicating clearly with patients and families about what services are available and how they work.
Hospital X Yogyakarta has provided home care services since 2018. According to internal hospital data cited in the research, the number of home care users increased from 454 in 2021 to 774 in 2022, representing a 70.48 percent increase. The number then fell to 679 users in 2023, before rising to 938 in 2024 and 954 in 2025.
The researchers argue that changes in service usage highlight the importance of communication that helps the public understand, trust, and consider home care services.
Researchers Examine Three Public Relations Strategies
The study examines Marketing Public Relations, or MPR, through three communication approaches known as push, pull, and pass.
A push strategy involves actively promoting services through organizational personnel and promotional activities. A pull strategy focuses on creating public interest so that people voluntarily seek information about a service. A pass strategy seeks to influence public opinion and build legitimacy through communities, institutions, opinion leaders, and strategic partners.
Rather than measuring the effect of advertising through numerical experiments, the University of Darussalam Gontor researchers examined how these communication strategies were actually implemented at Hospital X Yogyakarta.
They interviewed public relations staff, marketing personnel, and home care medical workers directly involved in communicating the service. The researchers also observed promotional and educational activities and examined brochures, official publications, and internal hospital data. They then compared information from interviews, observations, and documents to identify consistent patterns.
Pull Strategy Dominates Hospital Communication
The central finding is that Hospital X Yogyakarta predominantly applies the pull strategy in its Marketing Public Relations activities for home care. The researchers did not identify activities that could be explicitly categorized as push or pass strategies.
The pull approach appears in four main forms:
Direct education and service demonstrations. Doctors and home care nurses explain the service directly to patients and families. Information covers the types of medical procedures available at home, service procedures, visit frequency, and estimated costs. Medical personnel also demonstrate simple care procedures that families can perform at home.
Print and digital publications. The hospital distributes brochures in strategic areas and provides information through its official website and Instagram account. The research notes, however, that home care content appears less frequently on Instagram than content about other hospital services.
Home care vehicle branding. Operational vehicles display the hospital logo, the home care service name, and contact information. These vehicles provide repeated visual exposure to the service as they travel to patients' homes.
Participation in public events. Hospital medical teams, including home care nurses, participate in sporting events and other large public activities. Medical booths and staff uniforms display the hospital identity while providing health services to event participants.
Education and Trust Are Central to the Approach
The researchers describe the hospital's communication approach as informative and educational rather than aggressively promotional.
According to Bambang Setyo Utomo, Hasna’ Titania Nabila, Mohammad Luthfi, and Tubagus Novalul Barokah of the University of Darussalam Gontor, direct education by doctors and nurses gives patients and families a clearer understanding of what home care involves. Their analysis indicates that explaining procedures, service schedules, costs, and basic care techniques can reduce uncertainty surrounding the service.
The study also highlights the role of digital and print information in allowing people to investigate home care independently. Meanwhile, vehicle branding and participation in public events provide additional exposure to the hospital and its services.
The researchers describe this communication pattern as a gradual process of building awareness and trust rather than relying on direct promotional pressure. Their findings suggest that patients and families encounter information through multiple channels while making decisions about healthcare services.
Implications for Hospitals and Healthcare Communication
The findings offer practical implications for hospitals seeking to communicate home-based healthcare services.
The existing pull strategy provides several communication channels, but the study identifies opportunities to broaden the approach. The researchers recommend combining the existing pull strategy with push and pass activities.
Possible approaches identified in the article include stronger direct promotion, more structured publication through health media, social activities, sponsorships, and community-based programs. These activities could extend the reach of home care information and strengthen communication with communities and external partners.
The researchers also acknowledge an important limitation. Because the study used a qualitative approach, it did not statistically measure how strongly the pull strategy affected patients' actual decisions to use home care. Future research using quantitative methods could examine that relationship more directly.
Author Profile
Bambang Setyo Utomo, Hasna’ Titania Nabila, Mohammad Luthfi, and Tubagus Novalul Barokah are researchers affiliated with the University of Darussalam Gontor, Indonesia. The article identifies Hasna’ Titania Nabila as the corresponding author. Their research in this article focuses on Marketing Public Relations, healthcare communication, and strategies for communicating home care services. The source article does not provide the authors' academic degrees, so no degree titles are added here.
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