Fair balance in direct-to-consumer antidepressant print and television advertising, 1995-2007

J Health Commun. 2012;17(3):250-77. doi: 10.1080/10810730.2011.585698. Epub 2011 Nov 22.

Abstract

The authors evaluated fair balance in the presentation of risks and benefits in a large sample of direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription antidepressant medications appearing in magazines (1995-2006) and television (1999-2007) to assess how well they meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines. Using content analysis to capture relevant dimensions of the ads, results indicated that (a) considerably less attention is given to risks relative to benefits and (b) implicit ad content favors communication of drug benefits over risks, but that fair balance in direct-to-consumer ads has improved over time. The authors discuss policy implications and explore future research directions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Advertising / standards*
  • Advertising / trends
  • Antidepressive Agents*
  • Guideline Adherence / statistics & numerical data*
  • Guideline Adherence / trends
  • Guidelines as Topic
  • Humans
  • Periodicals as Topic / standards*
  • Periodicals as Topic / trends
  • Prescription Drugs*
  • Public Policy
  • Risk Assessment
  • Television / standards*
  • Television / trends
  • United States
  • United States Food and Drug Administration

Substances

  • Antidepressive Agents
  • Prescription Drugs