TY - JOUR
T1 - Is there a nocebo response that results from disease awareness campaigns and advertising in Australia, and can this effect be mitigated?
AU - Benson, Stuart
AU - Hunter, David
PY - 2018/8/22
Y1 - 2018/8/22
N2 - Direct-to-consumer advertising is banned in Australia, and instead pharmaceutical companies use disease awareness campaigns as a strategy to raise public awareness of conditions for which the company produces a treatment. This practice has been justified by promoting individual autonomy and public health, but it has attracted criticism regarding medicalisation of normal health and ageing, and exaggeration of the severity of the condition in question, imbalanced reporting of risks and benefits, and damaging the patient-clinician relationship. While there are benefits of disease awareness promotion, there is another possible adverse consequence that has not yet been rigorously considered: the possibility of inducing a nocebo response via the campaign. We will discuss the creation of a nocebo response in this context.
AB - Direct-to-consumer advertising is banned in Australia, and instead pharmaceutical companies use disease awareness campaigns as a strategy to raise public awareness of conditions for which the company produces a treatment. This practice has been justified by promoting individual autonomy and public health, but it has attracted criticism regarding medicalisation of normal health and ageing, and exaggeration of the severity of the condition in question, imbalanced reporting of risks and benefits, and damaging the patient-clinician relationship. While there are benefits of disease awareness promotion, there is another possible adverse consequence that has not yet been rigorously considered: the possibility of inducing a nocebo response via the campaign. We will discuss the creation of a nocebo response in this context.
KW - applied and professional ethics
KW - drugs and drug industry
KW - public health ethics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85047954405&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/medethics-2017-104504
DO - 10.1136/medethics-2017-104504
M3 - Article
SN - 0306-6800
VL - 44
SP - 621
EP - 625
JO - Journal of Medical Ethics
JF - Journal of Medical Ethics
IS - 9
ER -