Seniors’ perceptions of prescription drug advertisements: A pilot study of the potential impact on informed decision making

Abstract

Objective To conduct a pilot study exploring seniors' perceptions of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs and how the advertisements might prepare them for making informed decisions with their physicians. Methods We interviewed 15 seniors (ages 63-82) individually after they each watched nine prescription drug advertisements recorded from broadcast television. Grounded Theory methods were used to identify core themes related to the research questions. Results Four themes emerged from the interviews about DTCA: (1) awareness of medications was increased, (2) information was missing or misleading and drugs were often perceived as more effective than clinical evidence would suggest, (3) most seniors were more strongly influenced by personal or vicarious experience with a drug – and by their physician – than by DTCA, and (4) most seniors were circumspect about the information in commercial DTCA. Conclusions DTCA may have some limited benefit for informed decision making by seniors, but the advertisements do not provide enough detailed information and some information is misinterpreted. Practical Implications Physicians should be aware that many patients may misunderstand DTCA, and that a certain amount of time may be required during consultations to correct these misconceptions until better advertising methods are employed by the pharmaceutical industry.

Learning from marketing: Rapid development of medication messages that engage patients

“…In prior research, consumers usually have reported neutral to positive attitudes toward DTC advertising [42]. In contrast, providers more often disapprove of DTC advertisements [43], perhaps due to concerns about biased information or patients making inappropriate medication demands [44]. Yet some providers have cited DTC advertising as having a possible benefit of increasing patient-provider communication about treatment options [43, 45], which aligns with feedback in the current study.…”

‘At-risk’ individuals’ responses to direct to consumer advertising of prescription drugs: a nationally representative cross-sectional study

“…For instance, older individuals are more vulnerable to DTCA than are younger individuals because they tend to obtain less information from the advertisements 30 and are more likely to misinterpret information on the effectiveness of advertised drugs. 37 The misinterpretation of a drug’s effectiveness can complicate the physician–patient relationship if the patient requests the advertised drug. 37 While younger adults might also misinterpret information in DTCA, older adults are more likely to have several medical conditions requiring more prescription drugs and are therefore more likely to be effected by communication gaps in drug advertisements.…”

“… 37 The misinterpretation of a drug’s effectiveness can complicate the physician–patient relationship if the patient requests the advertised drug. 37 While younger adults might also misinterpret information in DTCA, older adults are more likely to have several medical conditions requiring more prescription drugs and are therefore more likely to be effected by communication gaps in drug advertisements. 30 Less educated and lower income individuals may obtain less information from drug advertisement and may be more vulnerable than others to the medication information gap.…”

Descarte de Medicamentos de Uso Domiciliar: Estratégias para a Logística Reversa

“…Veicular orientação sobre descarte nas campanhas publicitárias de medicamentos foi a estratégia avaliada como pior em todos os critérios: de difícil mediação e fiscalização, complexa, de alto custo e de baixas adesão e abrangência. A rejeição das campanhas publicitárias de medicamentos pelos pesquisados pode estar relacionada com efeitos considerados negativos dessa estratégia: as propagandas de medicamentos não fornecem informações suficientemente detalhadas, e algumas informações podem ser mal interpretadas (COX;COX, 2010;GRENARD et al, 2011).…”