Consumers' evaluation of the information in print direct-to-consumer advertising: Does format of the brief summary matter?

Objective: The “brief summary” in print prescription drug advertisements has been criticized for not facilitating consumers' complete understanding of the risks and benefits associated with the advertised medication. We conducted a study to determine whether consumers' knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions varied across different brief summary formats.

Method: By using mall-intercept surveys, 307 female participants, between the ages of 18-50 years, were randomly assigned to one of the six different versions of brief summary formats for a birth control medicine. These formats included no brief summary, brief summary, risk information window, bulleted list, nutrition facts panel, and question and answer format. After reading a print advertisement for a birth control medication, participants recorded their responses on a questionnaire.

Result: MANOVA results indicated no significant effect (at alpha=0.006) of the brief summary format on consumers' drug-related knowledge, evaluation of risk and benefit information, attitudes towards the ad and brand, ad believability, perceived product risk, and intention to use ad information in making health care decisions.

Conclusion: Regardless of whether a new or existing brief summary format is used, consumers processing and evaluations of information from prescription drug ads remain unaltered. Perhaps, there is no clear superior brief summary format. However, participants from the qualitative focus group were much more favorable to the newer brief summary formats, specifically to the question-answer format. This study underscores the need for further investigation to decide the superiority and usefulness of the newer brief summary formats.