Strengthening Rural Hospital Outpatient Utilization Through Community-Based Health Promotion: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis of Monthly Visits (2021–2025)

Rural hospitals often face challenges in outpatient utilization due to limited access and low public perception of service quality. This study examines the rebranding strategy of Agung Mulia Hospital through community empowerment-based health promotion to reconstruct public trust and increase service visits. The research employs a quantitative approach with Interrupted Time Series (ITS), utilizing secondary data from monthly medical records between 2021 until 2025. Comparative analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics and the paired sample t-test to evaluate changes in visit frequency before and after the implementation of empowerment programs, including free health services and social media expansion. Statistical results reveal a significant increase in outpatient utilization, with the average monthly visits rising from 1340.17 to 1527.43. The maximum number of monthly visits also showed a notable surge, reaching 1887 patients after the intervention, compared to the previous high of 1301. Hypothesis testing through the paired sample t-test confirmed that these differences are statistically significant, indicating that the community-based promotion strategy was effective. The integration of digital transformation and community engagement successfully bridged information gaps and removed social stigmas, ultimately fostering sustainable patient loyalty and providing empirical evidence for the effectiveness of socially embedded rebranding strategies in rural healthcare settings.