title: Fair balance in direct-to-consumer antidepressant print and television advertising, 1995-2007.
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.
authors: Department of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA. rja7@cornell.edu
authors: Rosemary J
authors: RJ
authors: Avery
authors: Matthew
authors: M
authors: Eisenberg
authors: Kosali I
authors: KI
authors: Simon
mesh_terms: D000329:Advertising / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D055553:Prescription Drugs; D011640:Public Policy; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013690:Television / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D055553:Prescription Drugs