Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Michael J. DiStefano, Jenny M. Markell, Caroline C. Doherty, G. Caleb Alexander, Gerard F. Anderson
Summary: This study identifies drug characteristics associated with a higher proportion of promotional spending on direct-to-consumer advertising. The findings reveal that drugs with lower clinical benefit and higher sales tend to allocate a larger portion of their promotional spending towards direct-to-consumer advertising. Further research is needed to understand the implications of these findings.
JAMA-JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
(2023)
Letter
Medicine, General & Internal
Neeraj G. Patel, Thomas J. Hwang, Steven Woloshin, Aaron S. Kesselheim
Summary: This cohort study examines if drugs with extensive direct-to-consumer television advertising offer improvements compared to existing treatments.
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Erin Willis, Marjorie Delbaere
Summary: Social media influencers have become popular strategic communication tactics in various industries, including pharmaceuticals, to engage with consumers directly. This paper highlights the lack of research on the use of social media influencers in the health and medical field and calls for further investigation.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Jeff Niederdeppe, Rosemary J. Avery, Jiawei Liu, Charlie Mann, Neeraj Sood, Matthew D. Eisenberg
Summary: Scholars have examined the association between exposure to direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs and lifestyle changes. The study found that greater exposure to advertisements for heart disease/cholesterol and diabetes drugs was linked to higher consumption of unhealthy foods, but not consistently associated with regular physical activity.
SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Communication
Ilwoo Ju, Taehwan Park, Jennifer Ohs
Summary: This study found that exposure to direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising (DTCA) increases consumers' perceived susceptibility to health risks but decreases their optimistic bias. Additionally, DTCA exposure influences prescription decision engagement through perceived susceptibility, and this process is moderated by optimistic bias.
HEALTH COMMUNICATION
(2022)
Article
Dermatology
Reena Bastin, Susruthi Rajanala, Mayra B. C. Maymone, Henriette De la Garza, Neelam A. Vashi
Summary: This study found that direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements can increase consumer acceptance of commercial ads, promote active acquisition of medical knowledge, and improve discussions with doctors. However, the ads tend to exaggerate the benefits of the products and make the procedures seem simple and risk-free, leading to the belief that trained medical professionals are not necessary.
DERMATOLOGIC SURGERY
(2021)
Review
Andrology
Christopher Lim, Winston Wu, Justin La, Vincent Chan, Kathryn M. Schubach, Glenn Duns, Daniel Lantsberg, Darren J. Katz
Summary: Men are increasingly using online DTC men's health platforms to meet their health needs. However, the motivations and predictors of this behavior are not well understood. This review identifies factors influencing engagement and health outcomes, but further research is needed to explore the underlying psychosocial factors and a wider range of health conditions.
WORLD JOURNAL OF MENS HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Phillip Gu, Edward Yang, Punya Chittajallu, Cathy McNeill, Amit G. Singal, John H. Kwon, Tasneem F. Ahmed
Summary: The study found that the majority of IBD patients had a favorable perception of IBD-DTCA, believing that the advertisements helped them become aware of new treatments and potential risks. However, IBD-DTCA rarely led to patient-provider discussions or changes in treatment regimens.
DIGESTIVE DISEASES AND SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Psychiatry
Leila K. Asadi, Asim A. Shah
Summary: This study investigates the gender bias in direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising for antidepressants, revealing that 82% of the ads exclusively portray women, 10.1% exclusively portray men, and 7.8% include both genders. There is a significantly higher representation of women in antidepressant advertising compared to psoriasis and diabetes medications, irrespective of disease prevalence. Unequal representation in advertising can have adverse consequences for both women and men.
COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Business
Jesse King, Christopher Yencha, Leslie Koppenhafer, Robert Madrigal
Summary: Incongruence between positive visual imagery and auditory risk information in pharmaceutical advertisements can bias perceptions of the drug's risks and benefits.
JOURNAL OF PUBLIC POLICY & MARKETING
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Robin Feldman
Summary: This study reveals that advertising spending is positively correlated with drug utilization for most drugs in both age groups, indicating a stronger utilization among seniors above 65 compared to younger patients. Medical practitioners should consider this when prescribing medications for Alzheimer's disease patients, especially for mood and mental health medications.
JOURNAL OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
(2021)
Article
Business
Alex Jiyoung Kim, Sungha Jang, Hyun S. Shin
Summary: Consumers' search behavior with keywords for competing brands varies between market leader and follower brands, presenting an opportunity for retailers to improve the performance of search advertising campaigns. Retailers' bid allocation across keywords may be inconsistent with consumers' click behavior, indicating a potential need for strategic adjustments.
JOURNAL OF BUSINESS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Business
Pragya Mathur, Malika Malika, Nidhi Agrawal, Durairaj Maheswaran
Summary: This research identifies the conditions in which low-fit brand extensions can succeed. The study shows that consumers who are context-dependent form their evaluations based on the type of information provided, while context-independent consumers focus on extension fit. Acceptance of high-fit extensions is not affected by context-dependence and type of information.
JOURNAL OF MARKETING
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Boris Babic, Sara Gerke, Theodoros Evgeniou, I. Glenn Cohen
Summary: Researchers argue that regulatory environments for medical artificial intelligence/machine learning applications should differ when designed for clinicians versus personal use. Direct-to-consumer applications pose unique risks of false alarms, burdening public healthcare systems and insurers. Regulators should understand more about consumer interactions with these applications and consider the societal costs of widespread use for effective regulation.
NATURE MACHINE INTELLIGENCE
(2021)
Article
Economics
Jacob P. Byl, W. Kip Viscusi
Summary: Consumers receive risk information about prescription drugs from various sources, including attorney advertisements. Risk beliefs significantly impact drug-taking behavior, and experience with the drug also plays a role in the learning process of risk beliefs.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR & ORGANIZATION
(2021)
Article
Substance Abuse
Neal Shah, Jiawei Li, Tim K. Mackey
Summary: The study utilized unsupervised machine learning to analyze comments on Instagram, detecting and classifying interactions related to buying and selling of prescription and illicit drugs.
Article
Substance Abuse
Neal Shah, Matthew Nali, Cortni Bardier, Jiawei Li, James Maroulis, Raphael Cuomo, Tim K. Mackey
Summary: This study used unsupervised machine learning to analyze the sales of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) on Instagram. The results showed that there is a significant amount of unregulated ENDS sales on Instagram, including flavored products, and many websites lack age verification. These findings may violate Instagram's policies and US laws, highlighting the need for stronger regulation to prevent youth access to and use of ENDS.
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Vidya Purushothaman, Tiana McMann, Matthew Nali, Zhuoran Li, Raphael Cuomo, Tim K. Mackey
Summary: This study examines the characteristics of TikTok content associated with nicotine poisoning and suggests the need for digital surveillance on emerging social media platforms to monitor adverse events related to vaping, particularly among young users. The findings indicate that TikTok users openly discuss their experiences with nicotine adverse events, including symptoms of poisoning and overconsumption. The study highlights the importance of utilizing digital tools to complement traditional methods of public health surveillance.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Substance Abuse
Vidya Purushothaman, Tiana J. McMann, Zhuoran Li, Raphael E. Cuomo, Tim K. Mackey
Summary: This study examined the trends and characteristics of nicotine sickness content on Twitter between 2018-2020. The results showed an increasing volume of user-generated tweets reporting suspected nicotine sickness symptoms. These tweets included firsthand and secondhand reports of symptoms, intentional overconsumption of nicotine products, and users expressing intention to quit after experiencing nicotine sickness. Monitoring user-generated content on social media platforms can help assess the volume and characteristics of suspected nicotine poisoning, providing valuable insights for adverse event surveillance.
TOBACCO INDUCED DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Substance Abuse
Joshua S. Yang, Afsana Faruqui, Angela Sou, Tim K. Mackey
Summary: This study investigated the attitudes and behaviors of employees and students who use tobacco products on tobacco-free campuses, and found that non-compliance is a result of interactions between individual, institutional, and interpersonal factors. Interventions tailored to specific campus constituencies can increase compliance.
TOBACCO PREVENTION & CESSATION
(2022)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Gul Saeed, Jillian C. Kohler, Raphael E. Cuomo, Tim K. Mackey
Summary: The urgent need for medical supplies due to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in bypassing the global pharmaceutical supply chain controls, leading to increased corruption risks. Therefore, promoting anti-corruption, transparency, and accountability (ACTA) mechanisms in supply chain and procurement has become crucial. This study conducted a systematic review across various disciplines to identify technologies used for pharmaceutical supply chain and procurement optimization and assess their effectiveness in addressing ACTA to strengthen pharmaceutical governance.
EXPERT OPINION ON DRUG SAFETY
(2022)
Editorial Material
Clinical Neurology
Bryan A. Liang, James Maroulis, Tim K. Mackey
Article
Substance Abuse
Vidya Purushothaman, Raphael E. Cuomo, Jiawei Li, Tim K. Mackey
Summary: This study explores the association between the proportion of people voting against Proposition 56 and tobacco/ATP retail density in California. The results show that there is a significant association between the proportion voting against Proposition 56 and non-specialized tobacco retailer density during voting and policy implementation periods. For specialized/ATP retailers, significance was only detected during the post-implementation period after normalization. This study provides initial evidence of the association between tobacco retail density and voting patterns for anti-tobacco policy.
TOBACCO PREVENTION & CESSATION
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Raphael Cuomo, Vidya Purushothaman, Alec J. Calac, Tiana McMann, Zhuoran Li, Tim Mackey
Summary: This study aims to assess whether county-level overdose mortality burden can be estimated using opioid-related Twitter data. The study used social media data and statistical methods, and found that this approach can provide closer to real-time estimates of county-level overdose mortality, which can advance prediction and inform prevention and treatment decisions, as well as evidence-based funding decisions for substance use disorder prevention and treatment programs.
JMIR FORMATIVE RESEARCH
(2023)
Editorial Material
Clinical Neurology
Bryan A. A. Liang, James Maroulis, Tim K. K. Mackey
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Matthew C. Nali, Tiana J. McMann, Vidya Purushothaman, Zhuoran Li, Raphael E. Cuomo, Bryan A. Liang, Tim K. Mackey
Summary: This study investigates the marketing, sale, and compliance of online delta-8 THC sellers. It reveals that many sellers are illegally selling this product online without proper credentials and shipping to states where it is prohibited. The findings suggest potential negative health and regulatory impacts from this unregulated access.
CANNABIS AND CANNABINOID RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Pediatrics
Tiana Mcmann, Christine Wenzel, Nicolette Le, Zhuoran Li, Qing Xu, Raphael E. Cuomo, Tim Mackey
Summary: This study aimed to characterize discussions and sentiments related to COVID-19 vaccines among Twitter users, particularly among racial and ethnic minority users. The findings suggest that vaccine-related concerns can have negative consequences on vaccine uptake and participation in clinical trials, especially among racial and ethnic minority populations.
JMIR PEDIATRICS AND PARENTING
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Michael Robert Haupt, Raphael Cuomo, Jiawei Li, Matthew Nali, Tim K. Mackey
Summary: This study investigated how drug dealers utilize the affordances of different social media platforms for advertising illicit drugs. Results showed that platforms with longer message lengths and anonymity features had higher drug mentions and a greater variety of drugs mentioned. Additionally, the study found that multiple user accounts were associated with the same identifier, revealing the activities of drug dealers across different accounts.
COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR REPORTS
(2022)
