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Communicating quantitative risks and benefits in promotional prescription drug labeling or print advertising.

Publication ,  Journal Article
West, SL; Squiers, LB; McCormack, L; Southwell, BG; Brouwer, ES; Ashok, M; Lux, L; Boudewyns, V; O'Donoghue, A; Sullivan, HW
Published in: Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf
May 2013

PURPOSE: Under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, all promotional materials for prescription drugs must strike a fair balance in presentation of risks and benefits. How to best present this information is not clear. We sought to determine if the presentation of quantitative risk and benefit information in drug advertising and labeling influences consumers', patients', and clinicians' information processing, knowledge, and behavior by assessing available empirical evidence. METHODS: We used PubMed for a literature search, limiting to articles published in English from 1990 forward. Two reviewers independently reviewed the titles and abstracts for inclusion, after which we reviewed the full texts to determine if they communicated risk/benefit information either: (i) numerically (e.g., percent) versus non-numerically (e.g., using text such as "increased risk") or (ii) numerically using different formats (e.g., "25% of patients", "one in four patients", or use of pictographs). We abstracted information from included articles into standardized evidence tables. The research team identified a total of 674 relevant publications, of which 52 met our inclusion criteria. Of these, 37 focused on drugs. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Presenting numeric information appears to improve understanding of risks and benefits relative to non-numeric presentation; presenting both numeric and non-numeric information when possible may be best practice. No single specific format or graphical approach emerged as consistently superior. Numeracy and health literacy also deserve more empirical attention as moderators.

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Published In

Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf

DOI

EISSN

1099-1557

Publication Date

May 2013

Volume

22

Issue

5

Start / End Page

447 / 458

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Risk
  • Prescription Drugs
  • Practice Patterns, Physicians'
  • Pharmacology & Pharmacy
  • Legislation, Drug
  • Humans
  • Health Literacy
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Drug Labeling
 

Citation

APA
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West, S. L., Squiers, L. B., McCormack, L., Southwell, B. G., Brouwer, E. S., Ashok, M., … Sullivan, H. W. (2013). Communicating quantitative risks and benefits in promotional prescription drug labeling or print advertising. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf, 22(5), 447–458. https://doi.org/10.1002/pds.3416
West, Suzanne L., Linda B. Squiers, Lauren McCormack, Brian G. Southwell, Emily S. Brouwer, Mahima Ashok, Linda Lux, Vanessa Boudewyns, Amie O’Donoghue, and Helen W. Sullivan. “Communicating quantitative risks and benefits in promotional prescription drug labeling or print advertising.Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 22, no. 5 (May 2013): 447–58. https://doi.org/10.1002/pds.3416.
West SL, Squiers LB, McCormack L, Southwell BG, Brouwer ES, Ashok M, et al. Communicating quantitative risks and benefits in promotional prescription drug labeling or print advertising. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2013 May;22(5):447–58.
West, Suzanne L., et al. “Communicating quantitative risks and benefits in promotional prescription drug labeling or print advertising.Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf, vol. 22, no. 5, May 2013, pp. 447–58. Pubmed, doi:10.1002/pds.3416.
West SL, Squiers LB, McCormack L, Southwell BG, Brouwer ES, Ashok M, Lux L, Boudewyns V, O’Donoghue A, Sullivan HW. Communicating quantitative risks and benefits in promotional prescription drug labeling or print advertising. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2013 May;22(5):447–458.

Published In

Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf

DOI

EISSN

1099-1557

Publication Date

May 2013

Volume

22

Issue

5

Start / End Page

447 / 458

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Risk
  • Prescription Drugs
  • Practice Patterns, Physicians'
  • Pharmacology & Pharmacy
  • Legislation, Drug
  • Humans
  • Health Literacy
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Drug Labeling