Journal of health communication
-
Despite growing concerns about the quality and accuracy of Internet-based prescription drug information, there has been very little empirical research on consumers' perceptions of the trustworthiness of on-line drug information. In this article, we report on a study modeled after that of Menon, Deshpande, Perri, and Zinkhan (2002) in Health Marketing Quarterly that reexamines how key demographic, predispositional, and media factors are associated with consumer trust in on-line prescription drug information and the impact of trust in on-line drug information on ad-promoted behavior following exposure to direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising. Four major findings are reported: (1) on-line drug information is not highly trusted; (2) trust in on-line drug information is not differentially affected by consumer demographic or predispositional characteristics; (3) trust in the traditional media of DTC advertising is predictive of trust in on-line drug information; and (4) trust in on-line drug information is associated directly with specific types of ad-promoted behavior following exposure to DTC advertising. Implications and recommendations are offered based on the results.
-
Attitudes about genetic testing are likely to be an important determinant of uptake of predictive genetic tests among the general public. Several prior studies have suggested that positive attitudes about genetic testing may be inversely related to knowledge about genetic testing. We conducted a random-digit-dialing (RDD) telephone survey of 961 adults in the continental United States to determine the associations among knowledge of, attitudes about, and perceptions of eligibility for genetic testing for cancer risk. ⋯ After adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics and family cancer history, higher knowledge was correlated with more positive attitudes about testing, but not with negative attitudes or perceptions of testing eligibility. Family history was positively associated with perceptions of eligibility (OR 3.49, 95% CI 2.36-5.18), and higher levels of education were inversely associated with perceptions of eligibility (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.32-0.94 for comparison of college or higher vs. less than high school). These results suggest that most members of the general public are knowledgeable and have positive attitudes about genetic testing for cancer risk and that greater knowledge is correlated with more positive attitudes about the benefits of testing.
-
Prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drug advertisements that appear on television are among the most common forms of health communication reaching the U. S. public, but no studies to date have explored the quantity, frequency, or placement of these ads on television. We explored these questions by recording all programs and advertisements that appeared on network television in a southeastern city during a selected week in the summer of 2001 and coding each prescription and OTC drug ad for its frequency, length, and placement by time of day and television program genre. ⋯ Direct-to-consumer drug ads appeared most frequently during news programs and soap operas and during the middle-afternoon and early-evening hours. Overall, we found that direct-to-consumer drug advertisements occupy a large percentage of network television commercial advertising and, based on time and program placement, many ads may be targeted specifically at women and older viewers. Our findings suggest that Americans who watch average amounts of television may be exposed to more than 30 hours of direct-to-consumer drug advertisements each year, far surpassing their exposure to other forms of health communication.
-
In 2000, the American Legacy Foundation (Legacy) launched truth, a national, multi-medium tobacco control social marketing campaign targeting youth age 12-17. This paper provides a brief description of one aspect of that campaign, the truth tour, and compares and contrasts the truth tour with commercial field marketing approaches used by the tobacco industry. ⋯ Social marketing campaigns that target youth may want to launch field marketing activities. The truth tour experience can inform the development of those efforts.