A study of variables affecting public relations power and roles in hospitals

This thesis addresses the topic of public relations use by hospitals and particularly looks at which variables directly impact the amount of power and decision-making responsibility practitioners wield in their healthcare workplaces. Based on previous organizational research that did not address hospitals specifically, the study hypothesizes that differences in size and technological sophistication directly impact the public relations practitioner's role. In addition, it hypothesizes that other variables, notably marketplace competition, will also have an impact. Further, the study attempts to provide a baseline for future research into the growing, though relatively unexplored, area of healthcare public relations.;The data, obtained through a questionnaire, did not support the hypotheses relating size and complexity to public relations roles, but a positive correlation was found between the supportive attitude of top management toward public relations and the success of a hospital within its own marketplace to a high-level of public relations power.