Methodological challenges surrounding direct-to-consumer advertising research--the measurement conundrum
Richard A Hansen1, Marcus Droege
1University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Division of Pharmaceutical Policy & Evaluative Sciences, CB 7360-205M Beard Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. rahansen@unc.edu
Research in Social & Administrative Pharmacy : RSAP
|December 2, 2006
Summary
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising research needs better measurement tools. Improving how we measure DTC advertising exposure and its effects is crucial for valid and reliable results.
Area of Science:
- Health communication research
- Pharmaceutical marketing analysis
Background:
- Direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising significantly impacts consumer behavior and health outcomes.
- Existing research employs diverse methods to assess DTC advertising exposure and its subsequent effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and discuss measurement challenges in DTC advertising research.
- To summarize common measurement approaches found in the literature.
- To examine specific issues like contamination, time to action, and endogeneity in measurement design.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive review of professional literature was conducted.
- The focus was on identifying and analyzing approaches for measuring DTC advertising exposure and effect.
- The hierarchy-of-effects model guided the discussion of processing and communication effects.
Main Results:
- Current studies utilize various methods for measuring advertising exposure and effect.
- There is a significant need to enhance the validity and reliability of these measurement techniques.
- The review offers a conceptual framework for DTC measurement and highlights literature gaps.
Conclusions:
- Continued research into the correlation between DTC advertising exposure and effects is recommended.
- There is an imperative for researchers to improve and validate measurement methodologies in this field.
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