Study of Citizens of CIS Countries Receiving Medical Services on the Territory of the Russian Federation: Insights for Development of the Export of Medical Services (Based on Material of Focus Group Interviews)

Background. The export of medical services is one of the most dynamically developing areas both in the structure of the world economy and in the structure of world health care. By decree of V.V. Putin of May 7, 2018 “On national goals and strategic objectives of the development of the Russian Federation” the need to increase the volume of exports of medical services was outlined. The real experience of receiving medical care by foreign citizens living in the territory of the Russian Federation has a serious impact on the broadcasted image of Russian medicine. Sociological research aimed at studying the opinion of foreign citizens about domestic medicine is a promising tool for ensuring a targeted approach in the export of medical services. Aims — to study the opinion on the Russian medicine among foreign citizens of the CIS countries living in the territory of the Russian Federation in order to form an effective strategy for promoting medical services provided for foreigners in the territory of the Russian Federation. Methods. The focus group interviews with citizens of the CIS countries who received medical services and residing in Russia were held. For the analysis, the text data encoding procedure was carried out. At the same time, the study was not aimed at revealing the prevalence of opinions, statistical criteria were not used. An adapted COM-B model was used as a theoretical basis for the analysis, and the BCW (Behavior change wheel) method was used to develop recommendations. Results. The study examined some important details of the image of Russian medicine in the opinion of group participants (good equipment, reliable ambulance, feeling of “conveyor belt”, bureaucracy, etc.). The results are structured using the adapted COM-B model. The study identified the main strategies used by foreign citizens when seeking medical care. Insufficient awareness of foreign citizens about their rights in the field of medical provision in the territory of the Russian Federation was revealed. The main channels of communication used by citizens of the CIS to select a medical organization / specialist for seeking help have been studied, it is primarily «word of mouth». It has been established that in order to be attractive, for Russian medicine it’s not enough to have advantages, they should be perceived as sufficient to overcome the convenience of conservative respondents to refer to “native”, “familiar”, as well as the fear of the “stranger”. Based on the results obtained using the BCW model, the recommendations have been developed and interventions have been proposed to promote medical services provided in the Russian Federation among foreigners.