EVALUATION OF DRUG INFORMATION AS A NOVEL LEARNING TOOL IN PHARMACOLOGY:  SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE MEASURES OF EFFECTIVENESS OF THE EXERCISE 

Graham A. Patrick*, Gail T. Galasko, and David J. Steele, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.A.

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to assess the effectiveness of an assignment in evaluation of drug advertising as a learning tool.

Methods

Early in their initial pharmacology course, second-year medical students were assigned to evaluate a drug advertisement of their choosing. Before being given the assignment, and again several weeks after its completion, the students were shown a videotaped advertisement for Vytorin®, and were asked to evaluate it using a questionnaire. Both pre- and post-assignment questionnaires included identical questions relating to content of the advertisement and student opinion regarding its truthfulness, while the post-assignment questionnaire also included 6 subjective statements relating to students’ perception of educational benefits of the exercise. The subjective statements were rated on a 5-point scale from “1 = Strongly Disagree” to “5 = Strongly Agree”.  Statistical significance was determined using chi-square test for the objective measures and t-test for the subjective measures.

Results

Data reveals significant pre- to post-assignment improvement in the accuracy of student analysis of the videotaped advertisement regarding advice to consult with a physician, recognition of evidence-based information, and errors in the name or spelling of the drug (p<0.05).  Data regarding the subjective measures indicate that students generally found the assignment of educational value (mean values ranging from 3.7 to 4.1).

Conclusion

Both subjective and objective measures suggest that the exercise of preparing a written evaluation of a drug advertisement may help medical students to evaluate commercial drug information more attentively and analytically.