Consumer Preferences for Drug Information after Direct-To-Consumer Advertising

Abstract

Despite the growth of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs, little is known about consumers' preferences for drug information after exposure to such an ad. The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of patient age, self-perceived medication knowledge, and the context of exposure to direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising on consumers' preferences for information about benefits, risks, and costs of prescription drugs. A mail survey sent to a random sample of 360 consumers was used to collect preferences for three types of drug information (benefit, risk, and cost of the drug) from six information sources (a physician, a pharmacist, a nurse, a family member or friend, a medical reference book, and the manufacturer of the product). The effects of age, medication knowledge, and context on consumer preferences were assessed using a MANOVA for each type of drug information. Any significant variables were analyzed further using univariate analysis. One hundred fi...