The impact of values and electronic word of mouth on public attitudes towards medical tourism development

Medical tourism has to constantly evolve and is full of healthcare organizations and agencies that want to stand out in the competitive market. These competitive factors are many and variable in this sector, as in every sector. The impact of social values and electronic word of mouth communication is also quite high and effective in the field of medical tourism. The aim of this research is to examine the effect of values and electronic word of mouth communication on the public's attitude towards the development of medical tourism with a structural equation model. Data was collected for the study using survey method. The research sample includes 483 individuals randomly selected from health institutions providing health tourism services in Tekirdağ province. The relationships between values, electronic word of mouth communication, and the public's attitude towards medical tourism have been revealed. The data obtained as a result of the survey of 483 randomly selected people who previously received health services from health institutions that include health tourism in Tekirdağ province were analyzed using IBM SPSS and AMOS programs. With the Structural Equation Model, the established hypotheses were tested. It has been observed that values (cynicism) have a significant effect on the anxiety of receiving quality service, and electronic word of mouth communication has a significant effect on the anxiety of receiving quality service. It has been observed that values (cynicism) do not have a significant effect on the anxiety of receiving quality service and do not have a direct significant effect on the contribution to the country's economy. It has been observed that rewarding effort does not have a significant effect on the country's economy and does not have a direct significant effect on the concern about receiving quality service. It has been observed that fate control has a significant effect on the concern for receiving quality service and its contribution to the country's economy. It has been observed that electronic word of mouth communication has a significant effect on its contribution to the country's economy and the concern for receiving quality service.