Masaaki Matoba1), Keiko Sakakibara2),Mamoru Ichikawa3)4), Sho Inoue5)6)7), Koji Hara8)
1) Showa Medical University, School of Health Sciences
2) Toyo University, Faculty of Sociologyy
3) Department of Media Sociology, Faculty of Sociology, Musashi University
4) Official Certified Partner of READYFOR Inc.
5) Research Promotion Center, Yokohama City University
6) GENOVA, Inc.
7) Department of Health Informatics, Kyoto University
8) Graduate School of International Management, Yokohama City University
This article summarizes the discussions during the Fourth Annual Symposium of the Japanese Association of Health Marketing, entitled “Funding Strategies to Support Health Communication,” which was held in Hongo, Tokyo on October 4th during Health Communication Week 2025. This symposium focused on funding as a strategic component of health communication activities conducted by researchers, health-care institutions, nonprofit organizations, companies, and local governments. Funding was regarded as a marketing strategy encouraging behavioral changes and cocreation among stakeholders, including individual supporters, companies, public agencies, and communities. Three speakers presented practical and theoretical perspectives on crowdfunding as a tool for expanding supporters and fans, disseminating sustainable medical information to bridge public value with economic sustainability, and facilitating impact investing, including social impact bonds and pay-for-success schemes in health care, long-term care, and health promotion. These discussions highlighted that funding strategies should reflect the characteristics of funders and research partners. In addition, research, implementation, and funding should be integrated to promote health communication.
Mamoru Ichikawa1)2)
1) Department of Media Sociology, Faculty of Sociology, Musashi University
2) Official Certified Partner of READYFOR Inc.
Crowdfunding is increasingly used to raise flexible funds for health-care and health communication projects; however, its significance is not limited to fundraising. As a communication strategy, crowdfunding enables project leaders to articulate the social value of their activities, reach potential supporters, and build an enduring base of fans to support projects. Following a presentation at the Fourth Annual Symposium of the Japanese Association of Health Marketing, this article summarizes current trends in medical crowdfunding and discusses their application to health communication projects. Successful crowdfunding requires appropriate project design, a compelling story with social significance, and continuous communication with supporters. In health-care settings, it is also necessary to build an operational team involving leadership, public relations, accounting, and frontline staff. Hence, crowdfunding can contribute to obtaining flexible resources, increasing public awareness, broadening donor participation, and motivating project members. As private donors are attracted to emotionally compelling stories, public funding is essential for socially critical issues that are difficult to narrativize. Therefore, crowdfunding should be positioned as one element of a diversified and sustainable funding strategy for successful health communication.
Sho Inoue1)2)3)
1) Research Promotion Center, Yokohama City University 2) GENOVA, Inc. 3) Department of Health Informatics, Kyoto University
Reliably disseminating medical information is an essential component of health communication. In the digital era, however, the challenge is not only to communicate scientifically accurate information, but also to ensure that such information sustainably reaches patients, citizens, and health-care professionals. Following a presentation at the Fourth Annual Symposium of the Japanese Association of Health Marketing, this article discusses funding strategies for sustainably communicating medical information and bridging public value and economic sustainability. Contemporary health-care information environments face infodemic challenges, while access to information is increasingly recognized as a health determinant. However, producing evidence and updating guidelines requires substantial human, financial, and organizational resources, particularly in the context of rapidly evolving medical science. Narrative approaches and digital communication strategies are necessary for the effective communication of evidence-based information, in addition to sustainable funding models. Private companies, digital platforms, academic institutions, and public bodies must consider transparency, editorial independence, and the need to manage conflicts of interest when disseminating medical information. International examples provide useful perspectives, such as institutional digital marketing by major medical centers and nonpromotional funding mechanisms for continuing medical education. Communicating medical information sustainably requires the integration of scientific validity, communicative effectiveness, financial sustainability, and governance in medical communications.
Koji Hara
Graduate School of International Management, Yokohama City University
Impact investing seeks both financial returns and measurable socio-environmental impact. Such schemes in health care, long-term care, and health promotion, including social impact bonds and pay-for-success projects, which are a type of pay-for-performance contracting, have drawn attention as a way to bridge the gap between generating evidence and social implementation. Following a presentation at the Fourth Annual Symposium of the Japanese Association of Health Marketing, this article summarizes the concept of impact investing, relevant domestic and international trends, implementation challenges, and future potential in health-related fields. In Japan, pay-for-success projects are relatively concentrated in health care, health promotion, and long-term care, in contrast to many overseas cases centered on criminal justice, education, and employment. Several barriers include limited financial incentives for service providers and municipalities, difficulties in outcome measurement, high evaluation costs, data accessibility, policy risks, and ethical concerns. Impact investing also contributes to reforming administrative processes by exploring innovative approaches, intersectoral collaboration, and outcome-oriented policy implementation. Researchers play a significant role by providing empirical evidence and validated measures, such as estimates of productivity loss due to mental health problems and instruments for measuring perceived time poverty, as they inform investment decisions. Impact investing should be understood not as a universal solution, but as a component of broader strategies for financing and implementing health-related social innovations.
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