Jennifer Gerard Ball

Health literacy awareness training for healthcare workers: Improving knowledge and intentions to use clear communication techniques

OBJECTIVE Health literacy is a growing concern as its relationship with health outcomes becomes clearer. Efforts to enhance awareness of patient health literacy in health professional education have focused on physicians, and the objective of this research was to provide an initial assessment of a training session designed for healthcare workers of all kinds. METHODS Pre- and post-surveys were completed by 166 participants (N=166) in training sessions designed to improve knowledge of health literacy and instruction in clear communication techniques. Participants provided baseline and post-training assessments of perceived knowledge of health literacy and use of strategies to improve communication with low health literate audiences. RESULTS Participants, initially overestimating their own knowledge of health literacy, improved on outcome measures regarding perceived health literacy knowledge. Participants also indicated strong intentions to use clear communication techniques covered in the training. CONCLUSION Results suggest there is an opportunity and need to improve health literacy training for healthcare workers of all kinds. Widespread adoption of health literacy training programs would improve the delivery of healthcare to low health literate patients. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Participants initially overestimated their knowledge of health literacy, suggesting a need to improve initial training and continuing medical education regarding health literacy.

Representation of African Americans in Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Commercials: A Content Analysis With Implications for Health Disparities

While direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical drug advertising has been the center of controversy, proponents argue these ads provide educational and social benefits. This study explores the potential of these ads to address one of the proposed social benefits of reducing racial health disparities, particularly for African Americans. To examine this issue, a content analysis was conducted on DTC pharmaceutical television commercials assessing the presence and role portrayal of Black models in the ads. Findings revealed that Blacks were well represented overall but appeared to serve a token role and were underrepresented in ads for some of the most serious health conditions.

Causes and consequences of trust in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising

Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising (DTCA) is believed to empower consumers, but national surveys indicate declining trust in DTCA. Given the unique characteristics of this category, it is unclear what the likely consequences are of reduced trust in these ads. Furthermore, previous research is inadequate to discern the basis of trust in DTCA. To address this issue, a model of the antecedent and consequent factors connected to trust in DTCA was developed based on prior empirical findings and relevant theory. This paper presents survey findings testing the model. Results show trust is predicted by perceptions of mediated health information sources, advertising in general, pharmaceutical companies, and the perceived value and informativeness of prescription drug ads. Regarding outcomes, results were mixed for the relationship of trust with attention, attitudes, and behavioural intent. Overall, findings suggest trust plays a complex role in shaping consumer reactions to prescription drug ads.

Factors Associated with the Persuasiveness of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising on HPV Vaccination Among Young Women

This quantitative study explored young womens response to direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising (DTCA) for a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. In particular, the study examined (a) the association of factors stemming from consumer research with actual and intended behavioral responses to DTCA for HPV and (b) key elements drawn from commonly used health-related theories to determine the strongest associations with behavioral intentions regarding the HPV vaccine. Survey findings showed that vaccinated women indicated that DTCA played a role in their decision to get vaccinated against HPV more so than those who were not vaccinated. Trust in DTCA for an HPV vaccine brand was significantly related to intentions to seek more information about the vaccine. Also, perceived barriers had the only significant association with behavioral intentions when taking into account perceived threat and response efficacy. These results provide practical implications for key industry decision makers and health communication professionals on the design of effective theory-based health communication message content for an HPV vaccine brand with consequent social implications.

Consumers Young and Old: Segmenting the Target Markets for Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising

Direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising (DTCA) studies have typically focused on older adults or a general population of adults. However, college students are viable targets for DTCA and are receiving more research attention in this area. In this article, we compare college students with two adult age segments. Our findings indicate all age groups had relatively high awareness of DTCA and similar attitudes and behavioral responses to the ads. However, there were significant differences in media use and health characteristics as well as the factors predicting DTCA ad trust, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. Implications and future research suggestions are discussed.

Pharmaceutical advertising practitioners' approach to trust and emotion

Purpose – Studies of direct‐to‐consumer pharmaceutical advertising (DTCA) have examined the views of consumers and healthcare providers but the perspective of pharmaceutical advertisers has been largely absent. This study sought to fill that gap by exploring the perspectives of advertising professionals working on pharmaceutical brands.Design/methodology/approach – Interviews were conducted among 22 advertising professionals regarding the use of emotion in DTCA and considerations about consumer distrust and ad credibility.Findings – Results suggest emotion is used to gain attention, increase involvement, and enhance information processing. Consumer trust of pharmaceutical companies was recognized as an issue, and various thoughts were provided on trust‐building strategies. However, several respondents expressed doubt that negative opinions of the industry translated into negative evaluations of the specific ads or brands with which consumers were familiar.Research limitations/implications – Based on parti...

Potential for Stigma Reduction Through Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising: An Exploratory Content Analysis of Television Commercials

Some have suggested that advertisements for prescription drugs may contribute to improving the acceptance of stigmatized health conditions. This study explored this notion through a content analysis of direct-to-consumer television commercials for prescription drugs. The inclusion of elements reflective of three stigma reduction methods (education, contact, and perspective-taking) was assessed. Results revealed that ads generally employed communication techniques consistent with perspective-taking and presented information and personal contact examples that disconfirm stereotypes. However, the extreme skew toward recovery images and paucity of information related to prevalence and causal attributions of indicated conditions could limit the potential of stigma reduction through these ads.

The Moderating Role of Age in Responses to Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising

Age is an important factor that can influence processing of and response to health messages. Many studies examining evaluations of and responses to direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising (DTCA) have incorporated age as a predictor variable, moderating variable, or sample criterion. However, findings have been inconsistent. This study attempts to add clarity to this body of research by assessing age differences in the antecedent factors of various DTCA outcomes. A multigroup structural equation modeling analysis revealed several significant differences in variable relationships between older (50+) and younger (<50) adults. Overall, older adults exhibited greater complexity in their consideration of DTCA than younger adults in terms of the sheer number of significant relationships within the model. In particular, trust in mediated health information sources and trust in ones physician appeared to be more relevant predictors for older adults. Trust in DTCA was also distinguished as having an inverse relationship with behavioral intentions among older adults while showing a straightforward positive association with attention among younger adults. Further analysis indicated that health status accounted for some but not all of the age differences. It is suggested that younger adults are more open to seeking additional information following DTCA exposure, whereas older adults remain ambivalent.

An Updated Analysis of Direct-to-Consumer Television Advertisements for Prescription Drugs

PURPOSE In 2015, the American Medical Association called for a ban of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) for prescription drugs. Yet, the pharmaceutical industry spends more than ever on broadcast advertisements, with national health care costs largely driven by drug spending. An evaluation of these ads is critical, as these advertisements can impact the frequency which patients ask their doctors about medications. METHODS A content analysis of prime-time direct-to-consumer ads was conducted across 4 major cable television networks. The ad content (n = 61) was coded for factual claims made regarding target conditions, appeals used, portrayal of medications, and lifestyle characteristics shown. RESULTS We found a substantial decrease in the percentage of ads that conveyed information about the conditions being targeted, such as risk factors (16%) and prevalence (16%). Positive emotional appeals (94%) continued to be emphasized; yet there was decreased use of negative emotional appeals (51%), pointing to an overall more positive portrayal of a patient’s experience with a medication. The lifestyles portrayed in the sample largely featured how products can enable more recreational activities (69%) and fewer ads (7%) presented alternatives to product use. CONCLUSIONS Direct-to-consumer advertising continued to promote prescription drugs above educating the population. Improvement in the educational value of DTCA is likely to require regulatory action rather than reliance on self-regulation by the pharmaceutical industry.

Building a Theoretical Model of Trust in Direct-to-Consumer Advertising

Direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising (DTCA) is believed to empower consumers, but national surveys indicate declining trust in DTCA. Given the unique characteristics of this category, it is unclear what the likely consequences are of reduced trust in these ads. Furthermore, previous research is inadequate to discern the basis of trust toward DTCA. To address this issue, a model of the antecedent and consequent factors connected to trust in DTCA was developed based on prior empirical findings and the Persuasion Knowledge Model (PKM). This paper presents survey findings testing the model. SEM results show trust is predicted by perceptions of mediated health information sources, advertising in general, pharmaceutical companies, and the perceived value and informativeness of prescription drug ads. Regarding outcomes, results were mixed for the relationship of trust with attention, attitudes, and behavioral intent. Overall, findings suggest trust plays a complex role in shaping consumer reactions to prescription drug ads. Implications and future research directions are discussed.