Business Question
Has the Problem Statement changed as you have continued to research your topic?
Response 1.) Michael
Telemedicine, or telehealth, is a method of delivering medical services remotely. Its use expanded rapidly during the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 (Pang et al., 2022). The Covid pandemic caused many healthcare providers to begin offering a broad scope of telemedicine out of necessity for the first time due to the severe reduction in face-to-face appointments and the desire to decrease virus transmission (Aashima et al., 2021).
During the first two decades of the 21st century, researchers conducted many studies to measure the providers’ and patients’ acceptance of telemedicine as a viable mode of rendering medical care (Cole-Reed, 2019). The advent of the Covid-19 pandemic stimulated many more studies (Aashima et al., 2021). Results from these studies were generally positive, but several also noted opportunities for further research. These opportunities focused on technology, training, data privacy, and legal guidelines (Aashima et al., 2021). A focused study of providers’, clinical support staff, and administrators’ perceptions of telehealth technology and its usefulness for the future, beyond the pandemic, is needed.
The problem statement is as follows: there is a gap in the body of knowledge in the field of telemedicine, according to existing research, whereby further research is needed to inform product developers, policy-makers, health administrators, and providers on the most effective ways to develop sustainable telemedicine solutions that are easy to use, well-integrated into existing workflow, patient-friendly, and provider-driven.
The problem statement has not changed since the Proposal I course. However, the ongoing review of recent literature may lead to modifications in the problem statement.
Asshima, Nanda, M, & Sharma, R. (2021). A review of patient satisfaction and experience with telemedicine: A virtual solution during and beyond COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine and e-Health, 27(12), 1325-1331. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2020.0570 (Links to an external site.)
Cole-Reed, W. K. (2019). Adoption of telehealth technology among primary care providers using TAM [Doctoral dissertation, Northcentral University]. ProQuest LLC.
Pang, N-Q., Lau, J., Fong, S-Y., Wong, C. Y-H., & Tan, K-K. (2022). Telemedicine acceptance among older adult patients with cancer: Scoping review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(3), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.2196/28724
Response 2.) Carter.
Restate your Problem Statement in its current form.
According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture provided by the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), yearly sales from agritourism and recreational services increased from $704 million in 2012 to $949 million in 2017 (National Agriculture and Statistics Service, 2017). Given that this paper uses the conceptual framework for agritourism proposed by Chase et al. (2018), direct-to-consumer sales are considered agritourism sales.
U.S. direct-to-consumer sales more than doubled from 2012 to 2017 (National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2017). Thus, total agritourism sales increased from approximately $2 billion in 2012 to $3.7 billion in 2017. This dramatic increase in sales over the course of five years illustrates an increase in national consumer demand for agritourism.
During this same time period, agritourism sales in the state of Mississippi increased from roughly $10.2 million in 2012 to $11.2 million in 2017. The United States experienced an approximate 85 percent increase in agritourism sales from 2012 to 2017; however, agritourism sales in the state of Mississippi only increased by about 9.8 percent during the same interval. This data demonstrates that the agritourism industry in Mississippi is falling behind the rest of the country.
Agritourism is a crucial component of the business strategies of a multitude of farms in the United States and worldwide. Many farmers utilize agritourism activities as a diversification strategy that will reduce the financial risks for the farms by adding additional streams of revenue from agritourism activities (Khanal et al., 2020). Consequently, agritourism helps ensure family farms’ viability and promotes the economic welfare of rural areas.
The owners and operators of agritourism venues develop marketing strategies for their farms which includes traditional agricultural products and agritourism activities. These owners and operators possess substantial experience in making marketing decisions for agritourism venues. By exploring the marketing-related ideas and perceptions of owners and operators of agritourism venues, new marketing opportunities may be discovered. Additionally, best practices may be undercovered.
Mississippi is trailing behind most of the country in agritourism revenues and rate of growth. Without significant developments in the marketing strategies of agritourism venues, Mississippi farm tourism will continue to fall behind other states.
Has the Problem Statement changed as you have continued to research your topic?
Yes. I changed the focus from social media to a more general exploration of marketing strategy.
Do you feel the Problem Statement needs more work?
Yes. I am unsure about my usage of numbers and percentages (using words like approximately and about). I am not sure if this is appropriate. Additionally, I might like to add a paragraph addressing marketing in general. Finally, I am not sure if I should focus on a specific marketing strategy area such as promotion or the marketing strategy as a whole.
Answer preview has the Problem Statement changed as you have continued to research your topic?
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