Knowledge, Perception and Attitudinal Assessment of Drug Promotional Literature Among Medical Undergraduate Students: A Questionnaire-Based Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37506/rb7bqr46Keywords:
Drug Promotional Literature, Medical Undergraduates, Questionnaire-based study, Ethical Promotion, AssessmentAbstract
Background:Understanding drug promotional literature (DPL) equips medical students with the ability to navigate the pharmaceutical industry ethically and responsibly. Medical students should be trained to critically evaluate DPL for accuracy, bias, and completeness. The present study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions regarding DPL among medical undergraduates.
Methods:A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted on second and third year undergraduate medical students where a prevalidated questionnaire structured on the principal concept of DPL and items assessing the attitude and perception regarding DPL, was administered. Knowledge regarding DPL assessment was adjudged using WHO criteria. The individual item response was tabulated and analysed accordingly.
Results:Drug reference guide, followed by textbooks and DPLs were regarded as most common source of drug information. Respondents’ knowledge regarding DPL was assessed against the standard WHO criteria.43.04% respondents believe that the promotional claims in DPLs are largely biased, 47.83% respondents believed that DPLs do not adequately highlight the safety concerns of the products, while 33.91% believed that DPLs only focus on the effectiveness of medications. 46.08% opined that they would cross-verify the information highlighted in DPLs before prescribing them. 93.47% passionately believe that medical undergraduates should be trained to critically assess DPLs as a part of their curriculum.
Conclusion:Medical professionals should critically evaluate DPLs, seek additional sources of information, and prioritize patient safety by considering the full risk-benefit profile of any medication. Educators should ensure that medical undergraduates are equipped to assess DPL critically and ethically, fostering responsible use of promotional information in their future careers.
References
Ganashree P, Bhuvana K, Sarala N. Critical review of drug promotional literature using the World Health Organization guidelines. J Res Pharm Pract. 2016;5(3):162-5. doi: 10.4103/2279-042X.185711. PMID: 27512705; PMCID: PMC4966233.
Adams C. Fair Balance and Adequate Provision in Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Online Banner Advertisements: A Content Analysis. J Med Internet Res. 2016;18(2):e33. doi: 10.2196/jmir.5182. PMID: 26892749; PMCID: PMC4777882.
Rode SB, Salankar HV, Katole NT, Deshkar AT, Dadmal AA, Parate SV. Critical Appraisal of Drug Promotional Literature in Accordance with WHO Guidelines. Cureus. 2022;14(8):e27644. doi: 10.7759/cureus.27644. PMID: 36072198; PMCID: PMC9437375.
Garje YA, Ghodke BV, Lalan HN, Senpaty S, Kumar R, Solunke S. Assessment of promotional drug literature using World Health Organization guidelines. Int J Ayurveda Res. 2014;4:3–5.
Jacob NT. Drug promotion practices: A review. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2018;84(8):1659-1667. doi: 10.1111/bcp.13513. Epub 2018 Feb 20. PMID: 29349812; PMCID: PMC6046507.
Vivek K, Deolekar P, Naseem A, Langade DG, Yadav P. A Critical Review of the Drug Promotional Literature Published in Scientific Medical Journals and Available at Outpatient Departments: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study. Cureus. 2022;14(11):e31283. doi: 10.7759/cureus.31283. PMID: 36514598; PMCID: PMC9733191.
Bellin M, McCarthy S, Drevlow L, Pierach C. Medical students' exposure to pharmaceutical industry marketing: a survey at one U.S. medical school. Acad Med. 2004;79(11):1041-5. doi: 10.1097/00001888-200411000-00005. PMID: 15504768.
Sharma S, Akhoon N, Moe HW, Nair DR, Shashidhar V. A study of perceptions and exposure of drug promotional literature among clinicians in a teaching hospital. Perspect Clin Res. 2021;12(3):140-145. doi: 10.4103/picr.PICR_36_19. Epub 2020 May 7. PMID: 34386378; PMCID: PMC8323565.
Jaiswal KM, Austina A, Abraham JP, Thomas AV. Knowledge attitude and practices of drug promotional literature: a clinician’s perspective. Int J Basic Clin Pharmacol 2023;12(6):836-41.
Deolekar P, YadavP, Deolekar S, DeolekarPS. Assessment of Knowledge of 2nd Year Medical Students Regarding Promotional Drug Literature using the World Health Organization Criteria. Journal of Medical Sciences and Health, 2019; 5(2):24-27. Doi:10.46347/jmsh.2019.v05i02.005
Schackmann L, van Dijk L, Brabers AEM, Zwier S, Koster ES, Vervloet M. Comprehensibility of a personalized medication overview compared to usual-care prescription drug labels. Front Pharmacol. 2022;13:1004830. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1004830. PMID: 36386189; PMCID: PMC9650257.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ratul Paul, Rudra Paul, Ayan Pal, Suman Chattopadhyay
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.