Assessing Risk and Benefit Communication in Direct-to-Consumer Medication Website Advertising
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Assessing Risk and Benefit Communication in Direct-to-Consumer Medication Website Advertising
William 1. Vigilante Jr., PhD Human Factors Consultant, Robson Forensic, Inc., Lancaster, Pennsylvania Michael 5. Wogalter, PhD Professor of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Key Words Prescription medications; Website advertisement; Direct-to-Consumer Correspondence Address William 1. Vigilante ] r , PhD, Robson Forensic, 354 N. Prince St.. Lancastei; PA 17603 (e-mail: wvigilante@ robsonforensic.com).
h g manufadurers have been increasing& mdeting their prscription medications using Diwct-to-Consumer @TC) advertisements. h i s research examines the g e ’c t sof integmting and scpamting risks and hen@ within prescription drug DTC Website ads and presenting the risk and benefits at diflerent levels of the Wcbsite. Zbo differentdrug Wcbsita and two diflerent task types (general browsing and item search) were used. Risk and benefit recall, recognition, time-on-task, click mte, and task
INTRODUCTION Since the mid 1980s. considerable research has been conducted on how warnings influence people’s knowledge and cautionary behavior. However, experimental research into the effectiveness of pharmaceutical warnings is relatively limited. Effective pharmaceutical labeling is crucial, as the general public is often unaware of the associated risks and side effects (1).Besides the information provided by physicians and other healthcare providers, the primary sources of prescription medication information have traditionally been drug labels and inserts, and more recently Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) advertising. Some DTC ads are used to market prescription drugs directly to the general public. Drug companies employ many different types of media in their prescription drug DTC ad campaigns, including print, broadcast and the World Wide Web. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (2) promulgates regulations for communicating risks and benefits on prescription drug DTC ads. For example, print ads must include a section with all of the risks, whereas broadcast ads only require the most important risks with a
success for risk and benefit search, as well as red. The risks and
Risks were mted most noticeabZe when they were presented sepamtely on the home page. Guidefines are provided for the development of DTC Websites.
pointer to all of the risk information given elsewhere. Although there has been some research conducted with respect to print and broadcast DTC ads, there has been little research on the factors that facilitate (or hinder) the communication of this information on the World Wide Web. Little research has been published to date concerning how best to present risks and benefits in DTC drug ad Websites. Should risks be integrated with a drug’s benefits to increase the likelihood that they are both encountered and read (3), or should the risks be separated from the benefits allowing for the use of highlighting to attract attention (4)? Related to this question is the effect of risk placement
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