Abstract
The overall goal of this study was to employ direct-to-consumer advertisements (DTCAs) as a teaching tool in a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum. The objectives of this pilot study were to investigate the following questions: 1. Do DTCAs generate student curiosity about the advertised drug and associated disease? 2. Can DTCAs help students understand and reinforce various pharmacological aspects of the drug? 3. How do students perceive DTCAs? A DTCA-based teaching tool was employed in a pharmacology course taken by P2 (second professional year) PharmD and final year (U4) Bachelor of Science (BS) in Pharmacology–Toxicology students. A voluntary online survey was administered to students to determine the effectiveness of this tool. Survey data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. 70–85% of responding students indicated that this teaching tool was an effective visual aid for learning pharmacology and correlating the drug to disease state, mechanism of action, and adverse effects. Moreover, themes identified from the qualitative analysis suggest that this teaching tool may be useful to enhance patient counseling skills in students. The initial implementation of this DTCA-based teaching tool proved to be successful, and a similar approach can be easily implemented in other pharmacotherapy and laboratory courses. Further studies are needed to determine if this approach can improve patient counseling skills.
Highlights
Advertisements or commercials in various formats such as televised, print, and radio touch our lives every day
The survey results (Table 2) indicate that the majority of students (~67–80%) agree or strongly agree that watching a drug commercial before learning about the pharmacology of the drug stimulated their interest in the drug (78%, n = 78), stimulated their curiosity about the drug’s mechanism of action and therapeutic uses (67%, n = 67) and helped correlate the drug with the corresponding disease state (87%, n = 87)
Can be developed for pharmacy students, as well as students in other health care professions [15]. This pilot study successfully evaluated the utility of direct-to-consumer advertisements (DTCAs) as a teaching tool in a pharmacy curriculum
Summary
Advertisements (ads) or commercials in various formats such as televised, print, and radio touch our lives every day. Among various TV commercials, direct-to-consumer (DTC) televised pharmaceutical drug advertisements (DTCAs) are usually short clips that quickly mention the drug’s brand name and what the drug is used for, and usually finish with a list of the drug’s adverse effects and contraindications. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates DTCAs disseminated via traditional media, the rapid growth of eDTCA presents several regulatory challenges [5]. Both patients and health care providers are exposed to DTCA in various forms
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