Developing a Medical Tourism Marketing Model by a Meta-Synthesis Method

Background: Today, medical and health tourism is one of the most promising sectors in the tourism industry in the world, which has led the organizations involved ,and the countries interested in developing tourism ,to focus their attention on this aspect of the tourism industry and plan for it. Hence, the aim of this study was to design the marketing model of medical tourism using meta-synthesis method. Methods: The present study was designed as a meta-synthesis research in several stages for East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Accordingly, after identifying the categories, concepts and marketing codes of medical tourism and evaluating its validity and reliability, the initial conceptual model of the research was formed. Out of 100 retrieved studies, 8 studies completely related to the purpose of the study were included in final analysis. In order to present the marketing model of medical tourism, the qualitative research method of meta-synthesis,s Sandlowski and Barroso (2006) was used. Results: The conceptual model in the present study consists of 5 dimensions, 10 components and 40 indicators which can show the marketing model of medical tourism. 5 main dimensions included; quality of medical and tourism services, price of medical and tourism services, development of tourism and medicine, medical and tourism facilities and equipment, and information and communication technology. Conclusion: The results of the research show that the dimensions, components and indicators extracted from the meta-synthesis method are approved by the panel of experts. The findings provide a new model and perspective on how to market medical tourism for the Iranian tourism industry, which will help managers, planners and policy makers of the healthcare system.