From poop to shrooms: What do we know about the psychological barriers that prevent adoption of innovative healthcare

As healthcare providers strive to increase the adoption of innovative healthcare treatments, they must take into consideration the psychological-emotional profile of patients and consumers. If they don’t, innovative and effective treatments risk getting ignored in favor of more familiar options.

In this article, we discuss how emotions and stigma prevent people from adopting innovative health treatments, as well as how we can overcome people’s emotions and help them receive the most effective treatment possible.

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Key highlights

Innovative healthcare treatments are met with skepticism and hesitancy because emotions get in the way of adoption.
To generate demand and establish a new product, we must therefore understand key emotional factors such as fear and disgust.
Overcoming emotional barriers requires more than the typical approaches of awareness campaigns, more data, and more information.
We need to first change people’s perceptions (by harnessing emotions, instead of fighting them, and making new treatments feel familiar).
Then we need to work on changing people’s behavior (by using behavioral interventions such as shaping and incentive programs).

Dr. Ada LêVice President of Strategy

Vice President of Strategy

Ada is a seasoned expert in behaviour change. She uses an understanding of the human mind to solve complex organizational challenges and to bring a different way of thinking. At BEworks, Ada works with Fortune 1000s on innovation, market demand, consumer adoption, and communication strategies. Ada oversees engagements primarily in healthcare, but also touches on the financial services and retail sectors. Her broad sector expertise and strategic oversight gives her a unique perspective into how organizations can more deeply and accurately understand consumer needs.

Ada is an award-winning researcher who has published in top-tier scientific journals. She holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Toronto and was previously a postdoctoral research fellow at York University. Looking into the mechanisms that drive behavior change, she has adopted a wide range of research methods throughout her career, from neuroimaging to motion tracking. Prior to joining BEworks, Ada was a MITACs research fellow at Cisco Systems Canada. At BEworks, Ada now brings her expertise on the integration of research methods to help companies and organizations solve real-world challenges all over the world.

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Dr. Ada LêVice President of Strategy

Ada oversees engagements primarily in healthcare, but also touches on the financial services and retail sectors.

Dr. Ada LêVice President of Strategy

About BEworks

BEworks is the world’s leading behavioral change firm. The firm distinguishes itself with its rigorous commitment to evidence-based insights and cutting-edge scientific methods. All of its practitioners are accomplished researchers, hold advanced graduate degrees, and have extensive experience in applying BE to complex strategic, marketing, operational, and policy challenges.