Impact of Animated Spokes-Characters in Print Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising: An Elaboration Likelihood Model Approach.

A randomized, posttest-only online survey study of adult U.S. consumers determined the advertising effectiveness (attitude toward ad, brand, company, spokes-characters, attention paid to the ad, drug inquiry intention, and perceived product risk) of animated spokes-characters in print direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs and the moderating effects of consumers' involvement. Consumers' responses (n = 490) were recorded for animated versus nonanimated (human) spokes-characters in a fictitious DTC ad. Guided by the elaboration likelihood model, data were analyzed using a 2 (spokes-character type: animated/human) × 2 (involvement: high/low) factorial multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The MANCOVA indicated significant main effects of spokes-character type and involvement on the dependent variables after controlling for covariate effects. Of the several ad effectiveness variables, consumers only differed on their attitude toward the spokes-characters between the two spokes-character types (specifically, more favorable attitudes toward the human spokes-character). Apart from perceived product risk, high-involvement consumers reacted more favorably to the remaining ad effectiveness variables compared to the low-involvement consumers, and exhibited significantly stronger drug inquiry intentions during their next doctor visit. Further, the moderating effect of consumers' involvement was not observed (nonsignificant interaction effect between spokes-character type and involvement).

Impact of a web-based intervention on the awareness of medication adherence.

BACKGROUND: Medication nonadherence is a widely recognized problem that leads to adverse outcomes and increased health care costs. Reasons for medication nonadherence are multifactorial, and patient awareness of the salience of medication adherence is critical. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to assess the impact of a pharmacist-led, web-based video presentation in increasing patients' awareness of the importance of medication adherence. METHODS: Patients aged 35 years and above, taking at least 1 chronic prescription medication were included in the study (n = 166). Patients completed a pre-survey, watched a pharmacist-led web-based video presentation educating them on the importance of medication adherence, then completed a 1-month follow-up survey. The primary outcome was measurement of change in patients' awareness of the importance of medication adherence. RESULTS: Results indicated a statistically significant increase in the primary outcome of increasing awareness of the importance of medication adherence. More patients in the follow-up survey indicated that it was important for their health to take their medications around the same time daily (P = 0.002), and more patients identified that their family will be impacted as a result of their medication nonadherence (P = 0.001) as compared to the pre-survey. More patients in the follow-up survey reported that they expected to experience fewer emergency room visits (P = 0.0001) and anticipated that they would get more time to spend with friends and family (P = 0.0039) as benefits of taking medications as prescribed. CONCLUSION: A pharmacist-led web-based video presentation may be a low-cost intervention to increase patients' awareness of the importance of medication adherence.

Disease-specific direct-to-consumer advertising for reminding consumers to take medications.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between disease-specific direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising, via traditional advertising effectiveness measures, and consumers' self-reported medication-taking behavior. METHODS: Data were gathered for 514 respondents (age 18 and above) using an online survey panel. Participants were exposed to a disease-specific (i.e., nonbranded) DTC advertising for depression. The advertising stimulus created for the study was based on the Food and Drug Administration guidelines for disease-specific DTC advertising and modeled after current print disease-specific DTC advertising. Participants reviewed the advertising stimulus through the online program and then responded to a questionnaire containing closed-ended questions assessing the constructs. Data were analyzed using chi-square tests. All tests were interpreted at an a priori alpha of 0.05. RESULTS: Significantly more respondents who were highly involved, paid more attention to the advertisement, and were responsive to DTC advertisements in the past indicated that the disease-specific DTC advertising stimulus reminded them to take their depression and other medications. CONCLUSION: These exploratory results show disease-specific DTC advertising can help people remember to take their prescription medication when viewed, which may lead to more positive medication-taking behavior and increased medication adherence. Additionally, given the fair balance and legal issues surrounding product-specific DTC advertising, disease-specific DTC advertising can serve as an effective component of the marketing mix for pharmaceutical manufacturers. Future research should attempt to study the impact of disease-specific DTC advertising on consumers' actual medication adherence using standardized adherence measures such as prescription records.

Disease-specific direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals: An examination of endorser type and gender effects on consumers' attitudes and behaviors.

BACKGROUND: Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising is still a controversial topic for pharmaceutical manufacturers' and researchers, and while numerous studies have examined the DTC phenomenon, little research has examined the effect of gender, particularly gender of the endorser and consumer. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this research was to assess the impact of the endorser (celebrity vs. expert vs. non-celebrity) and gender - both gender of the endorser and gender of the consumer - on consumers' attitudes and behaviors in response to a print disease-specific direct-to-consumer advertisement. METHODS: Using Qualtrics consumer panel, data were obtained for 514 US adults (age 18 years and above) who demonstrated at least minimal symptoms of depression and need for monitoring based on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) score. Data were analyzed using a 3 (Endorser Type: Celebrity/Expert/Non-Celebrity) × 2 (Endorser Gender: Male/Female) × 2 (Consumer Gender: Male/Female) full factorial between subjects multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and necessary univariate analysis. RESULTS: Only the type of the endorser (celebrity vs. expert vs. non-celebrity) used in the ad had a significant main effect on the dependent variables. Further univariate analyses revealed that, of the several dependent variables, endorser type had a significant influence only on attitude towards the ad, attention paid to the ad, and endorser credibility, with gender being non-significant in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: Expert endorser generated significantly more favorable levels of attitude towards the ad, and endorser credibility compared to the non-celebrity endorser. Celebrity endorser attracted more consumer attention towards the ad and generated favorable endorser credibility perceptions compared to the non-celebrity endorser. However, celebrity and expert endorsers did not significantly differ from each other on the abovementioned ad effectiveness variables. Lastly, endorser gender and consumer gender did not have a significant influence on ad effectiveness.

Patient simulation to demonstrate students' competency in core domain abilities prior to beginning advanced pharmacy practice experiences.

OBJECTIVE: To implement a simulation-based introductory pharmacy practice experience (IPPE) and determine its effectiveness in assessing pharmacy students' core domain abilities prior to beginning advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE). DESIGN: A 60-hour IPPE that used simulation-based techniques to provide clinical experiences was implemented. Twenty-eight students were enrolled in this simulation IPPE, while 60 were enrolled in hospital and specialty IPPEs within the region. ASSESSMENT: The IPPE assessed 10 out of 11 of the pre-APPE core domain abilities, and on the practical examination, 67% of students passed compared to 52% of students in the control group. Students performed better on all 6 knowledge quizzes after completing the simulation IPPE. Based on scores on the Perception of Preparedness to Perform (PREP) survey, students felt more prepared regarding "technical" aspects after completing the simulation experience (p<0.001). Ninety-six percent of the respondents agreed with the statement "I am more aware of medication errors after this IPPE." CONCLUSION: Simulation is an effective method for assessing the pre-APPE abilities of pharmacy students, preparing them for real clinical encounters, and for making them more aware of medication errors and other patient safety issues.

Impact of celebrity pitch in direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs.

Online surveys were conducted to determine the impact of endorser credibility, endorser effectiveness, and consumers' involvement in direct-to-consumer advertising. In a randomized posttest only study, using the elaboration likelihood model, survey participants (U.S. adults) were either exposed to a fictitious prescription drug ad with a celebrity or a noncelebrity endorser. There was no significant difference in credibility and effectiveness between the celebrity and the noncelebrity endorser. High involvement consumers viewed the ad more favorably and exhibited significantly stronger drug inquiry intentions during their next doctor visit. Further, consumers' involvement did not moderate the effect of celebrity endorser.

Consumers responses to coupons in direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs.

A study was conducted to understand the influence of coupons and consumers' level of involvement in direct-to-consumer advertising. Consumers exposed to prescription drug advertising with a coupon had significantly more favorable ad and brand-related attitudes, and intention to inquire about the drug to their doctor. However, there was no significant difference in perceived product risk between consumers exposed to the ad with a coupon and consumers exposed to the ad without a coupon. Highly involved consumers had significantly more favorable ad, brand, and coupon-related attitudes, drug inquiry intention, and perceptions about the risks associated with the drug.