Consumer Retention of Risk Information from Direct-to-Consumer Advertising
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Drug Informotion JOU-I, VOI. 33. pp. 281-289. IW Printed in the USA. All rights reserved.
CONSUMER RETENTION OF RISK INFORMATION FROM DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER ADVERTISING DONALDL. SULLIVAN, PHD, RPH Assistant Professor. Pharmacy Practice. Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio
JON C. SCHOMMER, PHD, RPH Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
STEPHEN W. BIRDWELL, PHD, RPH Associate Professor, Pharmacy Practice & Administration, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
The objective of this study was to determine if consumers retain risk information from direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA). The study design utilized a postgroup only control group design. Study participants were randomly selected from a statewide database of men between the ages of 60-7.5, These sampling criteria were selected because the ads used in the study were related to Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). The 1093 participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: disease-specific institutional ad group, product-specific ad group, or the control group. Participants in the two treatment groups were sent adr at one-week intervals for three weeks. A self-administered mailed questionnaire was used for data collection and mailed one week afier the last ad was sent. The results show there was no statistically significant difference among the three groups regarding the correct answering of any of the risk information questions. A post hoc analysis of the data by whether the respondents indicated they had seen an ad for the product or had used the product in the past, howeve4 yielded d@erent results. Respondents who reported they had seen an ad for the product could have seen the ad from some other media source other than the intervention used in this study. These results show that having seen an ad for the product in the past does increase risk information retention. Past experience in taking the product, however;provides an even greater degree of retention of risk information, but may also provide a false sense of knowledge regarding some types of risk information. Key Words: Risk information; direct-to-consumeradvertising; DTCA
INTRODUCTION
prescription drug .product in a real market environment is scarce (1). Therefore, rePAST RESEARCH HAS allowed only broad search is needed on DTCA to achieve a balpostulation of the effectiveness of direct-toance among understandableand objective paconsumer advertising (DTCA). The availtient information. ability of functional research for an actual In a General Accounting Office (GAO) report (2) entitled Little Is known About the Efects Of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising, Reprint address: Donald L. Sullivan, pm, ~ p h~~h , College of Pharmacy. Ada, OH 45810. the government concluded that available re281
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Donald L. Sullivan, Jon C. Schommer, and Stephen W. Birdwell
METHODS search does not provide an adequate basis for determining the effects, or likely effects, of DTCA (2). The majority of rese
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