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The purpose of this paper is to use results from a comprehensive analysis of a physician‐prescribing model to draw guidelines on how to promote a new drug in the presence of competing older drugs, in a chronic therapeutic state.

The authors use an extensive database from SDI Health, LLC, and a second data set from IMS Health. They calibrate their model using logarithmic regression methodology. The dependent variable in the model is number of new prescriptions and the explanatory variables are physician and patient characteristics, and marketing variables.

The authors' estimates imply that heavy prescribers are likely to be specialists, be in solo practice, have more experience, receive more sales rep traffic, have more HMO affiliations, have a higher proportion of patients in HMOs, write more prescriptions across all therapeutic categories, see a higher number of patients, receive more free samples from the sales reps, have more rep intensity in their offices, and allow longer visits by sales reps.

This model has novel implications for drug manufacturers on the effect of time‐in‐the‐market. Accordingly, new drug makers are well‐advised to wait until a drug gets established in the community for it to be prescribed more heavily by specialists and target physicians in solo practice and newer physicians to speed up the adoption process. Furthermore, for newer drugs traditional forms of detailing via a live sales rep are not as effective as for older more established drugs – the new‐drug manufacturer can try other means such as e‐detailing, social media, direct‐to‐consumer advertising, and word‐of‐mouth/mouse to initiate market share.

Health information drives crucial consumer health decisions and plays a central role in healthcare markets. Consumers who are better-informed about smoking, diet, and physical activity make healthier choices outside the healthcare sector (Kenkel, 1991; Ippolito & Mathios, 1990, 1995; Meara, 2001). Better-informed consumers also interact differently with physicians and other healthcare providers (e.g., Cutler, Landrum, & Stewart, 2006). In addition to the immediate consequences for individual consumers, health economists have long recognized that information also has broader implications for principal–agent relationships and the functioning of healthcare markets.¹ More recent lines of research in health economics and medical sociology emphasize the potential role of consumer information in explaining health disparities associated with socioeconomic status (Deaton, 2002; Goldman & Lakdawalla, 2001; Glied & Lleras-Muney, 2003; Link & Phelan, 1995). Both health economists and medical sociologists stress that because of disparities in consumer information, rapid medical progress tends to be accompanied by increased disparities in medical treatment and health outcomes.

High rates of union dissolution and repartnering among parents means that today’s youth are increasingly likely to spend some time living with a stepparent. Although family structure has been linked to adolescent well-being, most work has compared those in stepfamilies with those in intact families, so it is not clear which aspects of stepfamily life are more or less consequential for adolescent behaviors among those exposed to a co-residential stepfamily.

To examine stepfamilies more closely, we focus explicitly on youth who had ever lived with a stepfather using mother and child data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (n = 1,754). We specifically explore how structure and stability, timing of exposure, and sibling configuration influence risk-taking, operationalized as sexual debut and drug use at age 16.

We find that timing and sibling composition seem to be unrelated to risk-taking, but stepfamily structure and stability are highly salient. Adolescents currently in a cohabiting stepfamily and those who have experienced the dissolution of a prior stepfamily are more likely to engage in sex (and sometimes use drugs) than their counterparts living with only their stepfather in a married-parent family.

The findings highlight the importance of stability, more so than structure, timing, or sibling configuration, in understanding adolescent risk-taking. The results provide further evidence that children in stepfamilies have unique vulnerabilities and opportunities for resilience, and should be evaluated independently from samples of children from intact families to avoid a deficit approach in modeling and theorizing.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of pharmaceutical innovation on the longevity of Australians. The approach utilized involves estimation of difference-in-differences models using longitudinal, disease-level data during the period 1995–2003 to determine whether the diseases that had above-average increases in mean vintage (FDA approval year) of drugs had above-average reductions in mortality. Our findings are that the mean age at death increased more for diseases with larger increases in mean drug vintage. A 5-year increase in mean drug vintage is estimated to increase mean age at death by almost 11 months. The number of years of potential life lost before the ages of 65 and 70 (but not before age 75) was reduced by use of newer drugs. During the period 1995–2003, mean age at death increased by about 2.0 years, from 74.4 to 76.4. The estimates imply that, in the absence of any increase in drug vintage, mean age at death would have increased by only 0.7 years. The increase in drug vintage accounts for about 65% of the total increase in mean age at death. Estimated cost per life-year gained from using newer drugs is $10,585. An estimate by previous investigators of the value of a statistical Australian life-year ($70,618) is 6.7 times as large. We acknowledge potential limitations of this study by discussing several reasons why our estimate of the cost per life-year gained from using newer drugs could be too high or low. The value of this paper's evidence is primarily due to the government's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme: Australia has much better data on drug utilization than most other countries.

The prevalence of older people who use drugs is increasing in many countries, with evidence that some women continue or begin illicit substance use in midlife and older age. While research on older people who use drugs is limited, evidence of risk behaviours among older women who use drugs is particularly inadequate. Unsafe drug use and sexual practices that are prolonged and sustained over many years increase the possibilities for poorer health, leading to potentially greater morbidity and early mortality among older drug users. This chapter is a timely contribution to the extant literature and explores our current knowledge of the risk behaviours of older women who use drugs.

Although midlife is viewed as a transition period in the life course, the normative role expectations of midlife and older women run parallel to the stereotypes of women who use drugs. Furthermore, drug-using bodies are politically and culturally shaped through control and containment practices centred around notions of difference and risk. Acknowledging the intersection of age, race and gender, this chapter frames its position around the concepts of ‘risk’ and ‘edgework’. Utilising these theoretical concepts, this chapter argues that a shift towards a support-focussed model, rather than control of, older women who use drugs is required. The absence of a focussed, gendered analysis of the lives and experiences of older drug users, and older women who use drugs in particular, limits our understanding. Consequently, the chapter concludes with a call for well-designed studies of this increasing and largely hidden cohort of drug users.

This study aims at verifying the impact of literacy on over-the-counter (OTC) drug consumer vulnerability as evaluated by health literacy and label comprehension.

The item response theory (IRT) was used to estimate the health literacy of two groups and the two-way analysis of variance tests was used to test the hypotheses for the existence of mean differences between the two populations. The convenience sample involved 188 OTC consumers: 94 (50%) poorly literate and 94 (50%) university students/graduates.

University consumers/graduates have a level of health literacy and label comprehension that is superior to those presented by poor literate consumers. Also, age does not influence the level of health literacy by OTC drug users but has a significant impact on the understanding of OTC drug labels. Finally, the level of schooling and the “age group,” simultaneously, does not impact the understanding of OTC drug labels or health literacy.

This study has added in the field of knowledge by investigating the behavior of poor literate consumers in Brazil, a developing country. The results may be relevant to Marketing professionals, especially those in the pharmaceutical industry, and to police makers, as they help identify the main problems faced by poorly literate consumers.

It is necessary to raise awareness of the dangers of self-medication and wrong use of medications, mainly focused on people with low literacy. As a suggestion, a simple glossary presented along with the label could provide explanations of scientific terms, thus increasing health literacy and reducing the vulnerability of the consumers.

This study showed that when using common words such as gastritis to define a health problem, there is a higher degree of correctness. These results suggest the adoption of a more straightforward language and more precise explanations. By doing that, the pharmaceutical industry and policymakers will improve their social impact by increasing consumer power and taking care of the health of the most vulnerable population: the illiterate people.

This study contributes to the international literature, as it enhances and clarifies the knowledge about the customers’ power and vulnerability in developing countries. It fills a gap by evaluating label comprehension and heath literacy at the same time, giving an academic contribution for pharmaceutical consumers’ studies.

Because the growth in the elderly population is a worldwide phenomenon, it is essential for businesses to develop an understanding of the older consumer market. Older consumers are especially important to companies operating in the pharmaceutical industry, since they spend more on medical supplies and drugs than any other age group. The aim of this paper is to examine older consumers' preferences for sources of information and methods of purchasing prescription drugs and cosmetics, as well as the reasons they choose specific drug stores and specific brands of drugs and health aids.

This study employs a large national sample and various statistical procedures. Responses given to selected attitudinal and behavioral measures were tabulated and cross-tabulated by selected demographic and other characteristics. Grouping of older Americans into four segments based on aging characteristics and life events circumstances was achieved by means of cluster analysis.

The research presented in this paper shows major differences in the way older consumers respond to various marketing offerings. The responses of older Americans do not only differ from those of their younger counterparts; they also vary widely by psychographic characteristics that are based on aging, life-changing events and circumstances older consumers have experienced. The results provide the bases for recommended strategies to most effectively appeal to older consumers in general, as well as to members of specific segments.

The study helps marketers of pharmaceutical products improve their efforts when marketing to older consumers.

Unlike previous studies that examine choices of pharmaceutical and cosmetic products by older consumers as a homogeneous group, the present study treats these consumers as a heterogeneous market and examines their motives for their choices.

This study examined how youth would mitigate non-medical use of prescription medication among their peers.

The National Monitoring of Adolescent Prescription Stimulants Study (N-MAPSS) was conducted as an interview comprising 11,048 youth of 10–18 years of age between 2008 and 2011 from entertainment venues of 10 US urban, suburban, and rural areas. Using a mixed-methods approach, participants completed a survey culminating in open-ended questions asking: (1) How should kids your age be informed about prescription drugs and their effects? (2) If you ran the world, how would you stop kids from taking other people’s prescription medicines? (3) Why do people use prescription stimulants without a prescription? Responses from a random sample of 900 children were analyzed using qualitative thematic analyses.

The random sample of 900 youth (52 percent female, 40 percent white, with a mean age of 15.1 years) believed they should be educated about prescription drugs and their negative effects at schools, at home by parents, through the media, and health professionals. Youth would stop kids from using other people’s prescription drugs through more stringent laws that restricted use, and providing education about negative consequences of use. Peer pressure was the most common reason the youth gave for using other’s pills, though some reported taking them out of curiosity.

The importance of considering youth’s opinions on non-medical use of prescription medications is often overlooked. This evidence, from a peer perspective, could end the illicit use of prescription drugs among today’s youth.

Prescription drug advertisements are commonly seen in magazines and on television. Many drug ads are targeted toward older adults, who tend to use more medications and suffer from more chronic conditions. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of such advertising remains uncertain. The aim of this paper is to compare implicit and explicit memory for drug ads in older and younger adults.

Older adults typically perform more poorly than young adults on explicit memory tasks, but not on implicit memory tasks. The current study measured implicit memory with an incidental ratings exercise and an indirect test of preference; explicit memory was also measured with intentional studying and a direct test of recognition. The study was a 2 x 2 mixed experimental design with one between-participants variable and one within-participants variable. The between-participants variable was age group (older vs younger adults) and the within-participants variable was implicit and explicit memory. The memory test measures were the outcome variables of the study.

The results showed no age difference for implicit memory for drug ads, but an age difference was found for explicit memory for the ads. The implicit memory manipulation succeeded in demonstrating that drug ads are persuasive, suggesting that a complete assessment of advertising effectiveness should include a test of implicit memory.

The fact that age differences were not found for implicit memory, but were found for explicit memory, is not surprising.

The study is of theoretical significance because it contributes to cognitive aging research and examines memory within an everyday context. The study is of practical significance because pharmaceutical companies spend vast amounts of money on prescription drug advertisements that may or may not be effective with older adults. The component of this study that may be most important is that the results expanded everyday memory research to another applied context using an implicit memory measure, and the indirect test of memory demonstrated that the prescription drug advertising was effective.

Although the findings were consistent with previous research, the study focuses on the real-world context of direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs. Given that older adults have poorer explicit memory than younger adults, but not poorer implicit memory, it is particularly important for advertisers to use implicit memory measures when assessing advertisements aimed at older adult consumers. Marketers of pharmaceutical drug companies must remain aware that the memory abilities of their potential customers are extremely variable, and in some cases, limited.

The research aimed to identify ‘(1) current volatile solvent use practices, (2) health beliefs and perceived effects of volatile solvent use, (3) social dynamics of volatile solvent use, (4) significance of reputation, and (5) barriers to volatile solvent use intervention’ in a sample of Irish adolescents (Carroll et al, 1998, p1; Anderson & Loomis, 2003). Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 20 adolescents who reported inhaling volatile solvents, during the course of doctoral research (n=1,400) investigating substance misuse among adolescents aged 12 to 18 years in Ireland. Their average age was 13.2 years, and they used a range of substances. Solvent users were found to be most commonly congregated in small peer and sibling groups and one young male also reported using alone. These young people indicated their average age of initiation of inhalant use as 10.3 years and most did not use inhalants after the age of 13 years. This coincided with first‐time alcohol use, at an average age of 12.5 years and experimental use of cannabis in some. All reported some awareness of short‐term medical risks involved in solvent use, and most commented on negative effects, such as headaches, dizziness and vomiting. Teachers, probation and juvenile liaison officers, health promotion and drug education workers, youth workers, social workers, and parents should ‘familiarise themselves with the real world experiences of adolescent volatile solvent users’; in order to develop appropriate and timely drug education interventions (Carroll et al, 1998 p6).