title: Comprehension of information in three direct-to-consumer television prescription drug advertisements among adults with limited literacy.
abstract: Direct-to-consumer (DTC) television advertisements present a number of facts about prescription drug risks and benefits in a brief time. This study assessed comprehension of information in three advertisements among 50 adults with limited literacy. Participants correctly answered an average of 59% of comprehension questions. The percentage of respondents correctly answering individual comprehension questions ranged from 26% to 92%. A multivariate analysis suggested that type of information (risk vs. other) and channel (text vs. audio) predicted comprehension. There was a significant interaction effect for literacy and place of birth. Our results suggest key areas for future research on comprehension of DTC advertising.
authors.affiliation: Division of Population Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. kkaphing@mail.nih.gov
authors.forename: Kimberly A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Kaphingst
authors.forename: Rima E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Rudd
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dejong
authors.forename: Lawren H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Daltroy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000329:Advertising; D000368:Aged; D032882:Comprehension; D004522:Educational Status; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013690:Television
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations