Health literacy for Muslim consumers : a strategic demarketing approach

With the booming Muslim population around the world self management of one’s health via health literacy is becoming an important aspect for both the consumers and the health service providers. A marketing oriented approach towards Muslim consumers is needed to promote significance of self-management for health-care issues. The focus of our conceptual paper is on a unique aspect of demarketing approach to promote health literacy for self-management of health-care strategies among Muslims. The demarketing of unhealthy practices as part of the health literacy is discussed to educate Muslims how to live a healthy lifestyle to prevent obesity, diabetes, high bold pressure, cancer, sexual and other preventable diseases. Critical suggestions from medical science and Islamic practices have been derived to construct the demarketing strategy to enable Muslims to self-manage their health issues. The Islamic cultural practices supporting self-manageable health-care include halal-food provision, abstinence from alcohol and illegitimate sex, hand washing, diet according to healthy Islamic health way. The demarketing strategies for self management of health-care among Muslims are based upon the promotion of healthy lifestyle based upon medical and Islamic health perspectives. The focus of this unique paper is on the critical precautions to be promoted by applying demarketing for self-management of health-care strategies to Muslim consumers so that they lead a healthy lifestyle.