Coastal Stakeholders' Perceptions of Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

Planning for sea level rise (SLR) is a complex process that involves scientific uncertainty and local and regional political tradeoffs. As part of a 6-year transdisciplinary research project in the northern Gulf of Mexico, we conducted focus groups with coastal stakeholders (natural resource managers, community planners, and environmental communicators) to gain a better understanding of their planning and adaptation activities for SLR. This paper reports on participants' perceptions about adaptation and their current adaptation activities and strategies.

A Model of Consumer Response to Over-the-Counter Drug Advertising: Antecedents and Influencing Factors.

Given the importance of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs in the health care marketplace and lack of systematic research on OTC drug advertising (OTCA) effects, this study tested a theory-based, product category-specific OTCA effects model. Structural equation modeling analysis of data for 1 OTC drug category, analgesics, supported the proposed model, explaining the OTCA effect process from key consumer antecedents to ad involvement, from ad involvement to ad attention, from ad attention to cognitive responses, then to affective/evaluative responses, leading to the final behavioral outcome. Several noteworthy patterns also emerged: (a) Product involvement was directly linked to ad attention, rather than exerting an indirect influence through ad involvement; (b) ad attention was significantly related to both cognitive and affective/evaluative responses to different degrees, with stronger links to cognitive responses; and

Korean Americans' prescription drug information seeking and evaluation and use of different information sources.

This study examined Korean Americans' prescription drug information seeking, evaluation and use of different information sources, and communication with physicians, and compared the findings with those from the White American population. The results suggest that although Korean and White Americans were similar in extent of drug information seeking, Korean Americans tended to experience relatively greater difficulty finding information. Regarding perceived source usefulness, Korean Americans were significantly more likely to perceive higher usefulness in mass media and direct-to-consumer advertising sources than were Whites.

How Korean and White Americans Evaluate and Use Online Advertising and Non-advertising Sources for Prescription Drug Information.

This study examined Korean Americans' evaluation and use of online advertising and non-advertising sources of prescription drug information and compared the findings to those of white Americans. A mail survey was conducted with a disproportionate stratified sample of 600 adults (300 general population and 300 Korean Americans) who have ever taken or are currently taking prescription drugs regularly and reside in a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. While both Korean and white Americans evaluated online non-advertising sources more positively than advertising sources, the 2 groups were similar in their evaluation of both online advertising and non-advertising sources.

Source selection in prescription drug information seeking and influencing factors: applying the comprehensive model of information seeking in an American context.

This study investigates source selection in prescription drug information seeking and influencing factors on selection and seeking behaviors applying a modified Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking in an American context. Survey results suggest consumers engage in prescription drug information search before and after visiting a doctor, but search is not extensive. Consumers turn to the Internet, pharmacists, and doctors most frequently for prescription drug information.

Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising: history, regulation, and issues.

Direct-to-consumer advertising has changed the way prescription drugs are marketed in the United States. This article traces the history of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription and over-the-counter medications and describes how drug advertising is regulated and by whom. It also discusses the controversies that surround direct-to-consumer marketing of prescription drugs.

Evaluation, use, and usefulness of prescription drug information sources among Anglo and Hispanic Americans.

This survey was conducted to determine and compare how Anglo and Hispanic Americans evaluate and use interpersonal, advertising, and mediated sources of prescription drug information. Findings suggest the following: (1) Hispanics rely on doctors, Internet advertising sources, and direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA), while Anglos frequently use health-related websites and health care professionals; (2) Anglos are more likely to use health-related websites such as WebMD, although Anglos and Hispanics do not appear significantly different in Internet source usefulness evaluation; (3) Hispanics rely on television (TV) and DTC TV advertising more than Anglos, and this tendency is stronger for strong than weak Hispanic identifiers; (4) Hispanics evaluate TV news stories and TV advertising as more useful than Anglos; (5) Hispanics evaluate DTCA more positively and with less skepticism than Anglos; and (6) Hispanic ethnic identification level is positively related to preferences for Spanish-language media and health care professionals.

Direct-to-consumer advertising skepticism and the use and perceived usefulness of prescription drug information sources.

This study investigates advertising skepticism in the context of consumers' prescription drug information seeking behavior. Results of a telephone survey found that: (a) the overall level of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) skepticism among consumers was neutral; (b) DTCA skepticism was unrelated to age, positively related to education and income, and varied by race; (c) however, when all the antecedent variables were considered concurrently, only education emerged as a significant predictor (consumers with higher education were more skeptical of DTCA); (d) DTCA skepticism was not significantly related to perceived importance of prescription drug information; (e) DTCA skepticism was not associated with use of advertising and interpersonal sources of prescription drug information; and (f) DTCA skepticism was negatively related to perceived usefulness of advertising sources but unrelated to perceived usefulness of professional interpersonal sources (i.e.

Seniors' uncertainty management of direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising usefulness.

This study provides insight into seniors' perceptions of and responses to direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising (DTCA) usefulness, examines support for DTCA regulation as a type of uncertainty management, and extends and gives empirical voice to previous survey results through methodological triangulation. In-depth interview findings revealed that, for most informants, DTCA usefulness was uncertain and this uncertainty stemmed from 4 sources. The majority had negative responses to DTCA uncertainty and relied on 2 uncertainty-management strategies: information seeking from physicians, and inferences of and support for some government regulation of DTCA.

Age differences in how consumers behave following exposure to DTC advertising.

This study was conducted to provide additional evidence on how consumers behave following direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising exposure and to determine if there are differences in ad-prompted acts (drug inquiry and drug requests) between different age groups (i.e., older, mature, and younger adults).

Factors affecting trust in on-line prescription drug information and impact of trust on behavior following exposure to DTC advertising.

Despite growing concerns about the quality and accuracy of Internet-based prescription drug information, there has been very little empirical research on consumers' perceptions of the trustworthiness of on-line drug information. In this article, we report on a study modeled after that of Menon, Deshpande, Perri, and Zinkhan (2002) in Health Marketing Quarterly that reexamines how key demographic, predispositional, and media factors are associated with consumer trust in on-line prescription drug information and the impact of trust in on-line drug information on ad-promoted behavior following exposure to direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising. Four major findings are reported: (1) on-line drug information is not highly trusted; (2) trust in on-line drug information is not differentially affected by consumer demographic or predispositional characteristics; (3) trust in the traditional media of DTC advertising is predictive of trust in on-line drug information; and (4) trust in on-line drug information is associated directly with specific types of ad-promoted behavior following exposure to DTC advertising.

Media credibility and informativeness of direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising.

In this article, we report the results of a study conducted to determine consumer perceptions of the media credibility and informativeness of direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising (DTC advertising) and to examine how those perceptions are influenced by consumer predispositions and demographic characteristics, especially consumer age. This study specifically surveyed older consumers, who are the most significant market segment for prescription drugs and particularly susceptible and vulnerable to commercial persuasion. Older consumers' perceptions of DTC advertising were found to be neutral but their evaluation of informativeness was found to be more positive.