FDA: Announcement of study on spousal influence on consumer understanding of and response to DTC prescription drug advertisements
The Food and Drug Administration is announcing a study on the effects of spousal influence when viewing direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisements. The study will include two groups of people, those viewing a direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisement alone, and a married couple or domestic partnership viewing a direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisement.
The Food and Drug Administration is studying this topic further because they would like to gain more insight on how spousal influence can directly affect the decision-making or thought process when viewing prescription drug advertisements. When watching a prescription drug advertisement alone, you may only think about certain things, such as “This product may work for me???, or “I wonder if my doctor has more information.??? However, when watching a prescription drug advertisement with a spouse or domestic partner, they may express other concerns that you may not have thought of such as, drug benefits, side effects and risks.
There are many outlying factors that affect our everyday decision-making process when viewing advertisements, including:
- The environment,
- Social settings,
- What time of day it is, and
- Who we are with, including our spouse.
How do you respond to prescription drug advertisements when you are alone, what about when you are with your spouse?
Luckily we all have free will to make our own decisions, but does our spouse really affect the decision-making process or thought process when it comes to direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisements.
To view more information on the study, click the link below.
