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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.

The purpose of this study was to examine consumer data acquired by branded prescription drug websites and the ethics of privacy related to the interconnected web of personal information accessed, packaged and resold by tracker technologies.

The research used the DMI Tracker Tool to collect data on the top 17 branded prescription drug websites, with a specific interest in the tracker technologies embedded in those websites. That data was analyzed using Gephi, an open-source data visualization tool, to map the network of trackers embedded in those branded prescription drug websites.

Findings visualize the interconnections between tracker technologies and prescription drug websites that undergird a system of personal data acquisition and programmatic advertising vehicles that serve the interests of prescription drug marketers and Big Tech. Based on the theory of platform ethics, the study demonstrated the presence of a technostructural ecosystem dominated by Big Tech, a system that goes unseen by consumers and serves the interests of advertisers and resellers of consumer data.

The 17 websites used in this study were limited to the top-selling prescription drugs or those with the highest ad expenditures. As such this study is not based on a random sampling of branded prescription drug websites. The popularity of these prescription drugs or the expanse of advertising associated with the drugs makes them appropriate to study the presence of tracking devices that collect data from consumers and serve advertising to them. It is also noted that websites are dynamic spaces, and some trackers within their infrastructures are apt to change over time.

Branded prescription drug information has over the past three decades become part of consumers’ routine search for information regarding what ails them. As drug promotion moved from print to TV and the Web, searching for drug information has become a part of everyday life. The implications of embedded trackers on branded prescription drug websites are the subject of this research.

This study has significant social implications as consumers who are searching for information regarding prescription medications may not want drug companies tracking them in a way that many perceive to be an invasion of privacy. Yet, as the Web is dominated by Big Tech, web developers have little choice but to remain a part of this technostructural ecosystem.

This study sheds light on branded prescription drug websites, exploring the imbalance between the websites under study, Big Tech and consumers who lack awareness of the system that operates backstage.

The purpose of this paper is to explore prevalence, contexts and motives for the use of various benzodiazepines, sedatives and opioids among injection drug users in Frankfurt’s open drug scene.

The paper uses quantitative data from ten waves of the bi-annual open drug scene survey carried out within the frames of the Frankfurt local drug monitoring system (MoSyD) and an additional sample of qualitative interviews to highlight the individual user perspectives as well as professional insights.

The results suggest that the prescription drugs act as “support drugs” when the drugs of choice are not available or affordable. Patterns of use also show that by acting to manage withdrawal symptoms, insomnia and relieving stress, prescription drugs also contribute to maintaining daily functionality.

The paper contributes to the discussion on the motives and functions of prescription drug use in an urban open drug scene.

With expenditures totaling $227 billion in 2007, prescription drug purchases are a growing portion of the total medical expenditure, and as this industry continues to grow, prescription drugs will continue to be a critical part of the larger health care industry. This chapter presents a survey on the economics of the US pharmaceutical industry, with a focus on the role of R&D and marketing, the determinants (and complications) of prescription drug pricing, and various aspects of consumer behavior specific to this industry, such as prescription drug regulation, the patient's interaction with the physician, and insurance coverage. This chapter also provides background in areas not often considered in the economics literature, such as the role of pharmacy benefit managers in prescription drug prices and the differentiation between alternative measures of prescription drug prices.

Internet use has changed the mechanics of drug dealing. Although this has spurred some initial academic interest in how markets and their users have been changing, the issue is still under-researched. The purpose of this paper is to understand how the organisation of the distribution of prescription drugs and other illegal drugs overlap in these online markets by analysing data gathered from observation of the Swedish Facebook drug market and its participants.

Data were gathered during three months of digital ethnography conducted among Swedish Facebook posters supplemented by 25 interviews with sellers (20) and buyers (5). Screenshots and interview data were coded by carrying out an NVivo-based content analysis. The analysis is based on descriptive statistics of drug types, co-occurrence with other drugs, group size and the demographic characteristics of sellers. Additionally, the interviewees’ descriptions of the marketplace and their drug dealing or buying activities were included in the analysis.

In total, 57 Swedish Facebook groups that sold illegal substances were located. The groups rarely specialised in specific drug types, but were convened around demographic factors, such as specific cities and locales. The sales of prescription drugs were part of the overall activity of groups selling other illegal drugs, but they were more often sold in separate Facebook posts, possibly by specialist sellers. Swedish Facebook sales primarily concerned alprazolam, tramadol, pregabalin and clonazepam, and were sold by both professional and amateur sellers.

This study reports findings from a Nordic comparative study on social media drug dealing, representing the first in-depth study of digitally mediated prescription drug dealing outside of cryptomarkets.

The aim of this paper is to enhance the effectiveness of pharmacovigilance programs that provide information about medical products to benefit consumers, aid health care professional’s decision-making and improve community health. This research sought to determine whether distinct segments of consumers can be identified for prescription drug safety social marketing and communication activities and if these segments would respond differently to information about prescription drug products.

Theories of risk information-seeking behavior were used to develop questions for respondents in an online survey panel. Latent class analyses identified clusters that were similar in their ability to accurately interpret risks and benefits, preferred sources of health information, medication use and other related factors. Multinomial logistic regression models identified demographic and psychographic differences across the segments. Logistic and linear regression models were then used to compare each segment’s responses to a specific drug safety information product.

The 1,244 respondents were clustered into four segments: not engaged (12 per cent), low-involvement users (29 per cent), careful users (50 per cent) and social information seekers (9 per cent). These segments were distinguished by perceived seeking control, self-appraisal of skill, information insufficiency, self-efficacy, information competency and health literacy. Sources of health information and health-seeking behaviors were also different across the four segments. Significant differences were found among the segments in their comprehension and perceived utility of the content and their intentions to take relevant actions.

From an array of potential behavioral influences, adults can be segmented by risk information-seeking constructs and related behaviors. These segments respond differently to drug safety information. Use of the personas developed in this work can help pharmacovigilance programs around the world develop more relevant and tailored social marketing products, services and content.

A social marketing approach using empirically tested theoretical constructs can be useful for drug safety or pharmacovigilance programs. The results were used to create personas that quickly convey relevant information to drug safety program managers and staff.

The purpose of this paper is to examine rates of potentially inappropriate prescribing in a population dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid using the new 2003 Fick update, which revises the previous 1997 Beers list.

Cross sectional retrospective review of 2003 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) Medicaid Pharmacy claims data. Claims data submitted for outpatient and nursing home residents for elderly enrollees dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid were analyzed. Potentially inappropriate drug use was assessed using the 2003 Fick update to the previous 1997 Beers list. Inappropriate use was identified based on these criteria for drugs independent of diagnosis.

Of enrollees with drug use, 34 percent received an inappropriate drug per the 1997 Beers list; 47 percent per the 2003 Fick update. Hispanics had the highest percentage of drug recipients receiving an inappropriate drug in the Northeast region per the 2003 Fick update. Within therapeutic category, the number of inappropriate genitourinary products dispensed to total genitourinary products ranked the highest at 20 percent per the 2003 Fick update.

This study examines variations in Beers drug use in the elderly dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid population in 2003 by applying the 2003 Fick et al. update of the 1997 Beers list to one of the nation's largest sources of person‐specific data on prescribed drugs. Inappropriate use was identified for drugs independent of diagnosis. Of enrollees with drug use, 34 percent received an inappropriate drug per the 1997 Beers list; 47 percent per the 2003 Fick update. Within therapeutic category, the number of inappropriate genitourinary products dispensed to total genitourinary products ranked the highest at 20 percent per the 2003 Fick update. The paper's findings provide evidence that the potential use of inappropriate drugs in Hispanics should be considered separately from other ethnicity groups.

A markedly higher rate of potentially inappropriate drug use in the elderly Medicaid population exists following the Fick update. These findings provide evidence that the potential use of inappropriate drugs in Hispanics should be considered separately from other ethnicity groups. By comparing drug use based on therapeutic category, genitourinary products were found to have the highest potential for inappropriate prescribing.

The paper's aim is to analyze the functional relationships between factors related to the prescription of medical drugs in Brazil.

A survey was conducted among 232 medical doctors in Brazil. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Five hypotheses on the factors impacting drug prescription were proposed, and the constructs were validated using a set of techniques pertaining to the calculation of structural equations.

The process of medical drug prescription in Brazil is positively correlated with all the presented constructs. However, the study found that the five proposed hypotheses demonstrated varying degrees of positive effect levels, ranging from strong to weak. Particularly, factors such as the characteristics of the drug and information available on a drug have the weakest effect, while the cost‐benefit ratio of a drug has a moderate effect. The drug's brand and its related advertising have the strongest effect.

The results demonstrate the success of specific applications of advertising tools and brand construction in pharmaceutical marketing strategies targeting Brazilian physicians.

The study provides a broad map to understand the influences on drug prescriptions. Despite a prior study that found the behavior of physicians to be impacted by a different set of factors, this new research clearly shows that, in the Brazilian context, branding and advertising remain the major influences.

To determine how seniors evaluate, compare, and use prescription drug information sources, provide insight on perceptions of the credibility, trustworthiness, and value of these sources, and capture verbatim comments for translation into scalar statements in future surveys.

A total of 25 in‐depth interviews were conducted with US seniors age 65 or older. The transcripts were analyzed using an interpretative approach.

Informants distinguish between sources on the dimension of credibility; place the most trust in physicians but since they tend to experience a lack of time and attention from them, mass media seem to fill an information gap; and direct‐to‐physician promotions appear to have an indirect influence on patients' perceived credibility of and interaction with physicians.

The findings suggest that identification of key sources should consider two factors: frequency of access/utilization and trust in information provided by the source. The findings also provide empirically‐grounded statements for future scale development.

The results suggest that for multi‐media campaign effectiveness: advertising for a new drug may be most effective on TV but as a brand enters growth or maturity, print may be a better option; marketers should emphasize print in the direct‐to‐consumer (DTC) advertising media mix; sampling strategies should be coordinated with product packaging literature and emphasized to promote trial; and marketers should attempt to increase internet usage among seniors and utilize the medium more actively but avoid online advertising.

The findings contribute to knowledge on the responsiveness of US seniors to DTC advertising and other prescription drug information sources.

Aim ‐ To describe prescription drug use in a nationwide prison population and compare it with contemporary drug use in other relevant populations as well as in a prison population 25 years ago. Method ‐ Detailed medication sheets from 37 prisons, covering 90% of the Norwegian prison population, were collected. All drugs were transcribed into the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification system, and Defined Daily Doses/100 inmates were calculated. Data enabling relevant comparisons were gathered from reliable sources. Results ‐ Among the 2,617 inmates investigated, 48% used no medication. Sixteen percent used both psychotropic and somatic drugs, 17% psychotropic drugs only, and 19% somatic drugs only. Strong correlations between drug use and gender, age, and prison characteristics were demonstrated. Psychotropic drug use was higher than in the general population but lower than in a psychiatric hospital unit. Somatic drug use was lower than in the general population, except non‐steroid antiinflammatory agents, antihistamines, and drugs to alleviate obstructive airway diseases. Psychotropic drug use, particularly antidepressant use, was higher than in prisons 25 years ago. Conclusion ‐ High levels of use of all psychotropic and a number of somatic drugs were demonstrated in this nationwide prison population. Treatment studies are needed in order to ascertain whether the high levels of use of particularly psychotropic medications are indeed improving the mental health of prisoners.