TY - JOUR
T1 - A review of research on direct‐to‐consumer advertising of prescription drugs
T2 - Directions for future research
AU - Mukherjee, Avinandan
AU - Limbu, Yam
AU - Wanasika, Isaac
PY - 2013/8/30
Y1 - 2013/8/30
N2 - Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review empirical research on
direct‐to‐consumer
advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs published in journals over the period
from 1997 to 2012.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured review of 130 published studies on direct‐to‐consumer
advertising of prescription drugs was conducted.
Findings
Based on the structured review, the authors identified seven
key research themes in DTCA. These are: consumers' attitudes toward direct‐to‐consumer
advertising, physician‐patient interaction, content of DTC advertisements,
awareness, literacy and memory, consumer information source and search, effect
of DTCA expenditures on financial performance, and physicians' attitudes toward
DTCA.
Research limitations/implications
Avenues for future research are proposed. Future research
needs to focus on more empirical studies, television DTCA, online and emerging
media DTCA, new and improved measures, ethical issues and regulations, diverse
countries, and nurse and pharmacist attitudes towards DTCA.
Originality/value
The primary contribution of this paper is a thorough
understanding of the state‐of‐the‐art in research on DTCA and future
research directions.
AB - Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review empirical research on
direct‐to‐consumer
advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs published in journals over the period
from 1997 to 2012.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured review of 130 published studies on direct‐to‐consumer
advertising of prescription drugs was conducted.
Findings
Based on the structured review, the authors identified seven
key research themes in DTCA. These are: consumers' attitudes toward direct‐to‐consumer
advertising, physician‐patient interaction, content of DTC advertisements,
awareness, literacy and memory, consumer information source and search, effect
of DTCA expenditures on financial performance, and physicians' attitudes toward
DTCA.
Research limitations/implications
Avenues for future research are proposed. Future research
needs to focus on more empirical studies, television DTCA, online and emerging
media DTCA, new and improved measures, ethical issues and regulations, diverse
countries, and nurse and pharmacist attitudes towards DTCA.
Originality/value
The primary contribution of this paper is a thorough
understanding of the state‐of‐the‐art in research on DTCA and future
research directions.
KW - Advertising effectiveness
KW - Direct-to-consumer advertising
KW - Pharmaceutical products
KW - Prescription drugs
KW - Research themes
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84881582539
UR - https://www.emerald.com/ijphm/article-abstract/7/3/226/165999/A-review-of-research-on-direct-to-consumer?redirectedFrom=fulltext
U2 - 10.1108/IJPHM-07-2013-0037
DO - 10.1108/IJPHM-07-2013-0037
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84881582539
SN - 1750-6123
VL - 7
SP - 226
EP - 243
JO - International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing
JF - International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing
IS - 3
ER -
