The Study on Advertisements of Private Sanitariums in Nakhon Ratchasima Province

Abstract

The objective of this cross-sectional descriptive research was to examine the forms, contents and legal correctness of advertisements from private sanitariums in Nakhon Ratchasima province. The data were collected from all private sanitariums’ advertisements requested for approval by the private sanitarium advertisement subcommittee of Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Public Health Office during the 5-month period (May-September 2018). The data used in this study were the advertising contents that did not comply with the Sanatorium Act of B.E. 2559.

The results showed that private sanitarium that request the approval of advertisements were mostly from aesthetic medical clinics (63.5%), followed by dental clinics and hospitals (24.4% and 6.1%, respectively). Among 129 advertisements from private sanitarium, the majority advertising media was through internet (41.9%), followed by brochures (24.8%). The study showed that 82.9 percent of advertisements requested for approvals did not comply with the Act. Inappropriate contents could be classified into seven groups: 1) false statements, disclosing the facts partially and use of misleading statements, 2) advertisements related to medicine, medical devices and cosmetics, 3) incorrect comparison of results between before and after according to professional standards, 4) did not provide clear conditions and details with "free", "special" or “discounted sales” statements in the advertisements, 5) provided services that are not related to the branch that the professional or practitioner received letters of approval or certificates to practice, 6) offered presents, exchanges, privileges, rewards or gambling, and 7) used the presenters’ images of singers, actors or persons without clear consent or contract.  Most advertisements that did not comply with the Act were using false and/or misleading statements and revealing only partial facts (69.0%) followed by advertisements that included contents on medicine, medical devices and cosmetics (17.1%). In conclusion, the results from the study can be applied to the development of a handbook on the guideline for evaluation of private sanitarium advertisement according to the Sanatorium Act of B.E. 2559 and practitioners provides consumer protection against illegal advertisement.