ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationships between customer's attitude, the subjective norm and the intention to use hospital-based health promotion services. METHODS: This study was based on the theory of reasoned action, suggested by Fishbein and Ajzen. The subjects of this study were 501 residents of Seoul, Bun-dang, Il-san and Pyung-chon city, under 65 years, who were stratified by sex and age. A covariance structural analysis was used to identify the structural relationships between attitude towards health promotion programs or services, their subjective norm and their intention to use the aforementioned services. RESULTS: The subjective norm for using the health promotion programs or services provided by hospitals was a significant predictor of the intention to use, but the attitude towards the services was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that a customer's reference group affects their use of the hospital-based health promotion services. Because the subjects of this study were restricted to specific urban areas, there are limitations to generalizing the study results. Despite the limitations of these results, they can serve as baseline information for the understanding of consumer's behavior toward hospital-based health promotion services.