The content analysis of drug advertisements in two local medical journals

Abstract

As a communication and information channel, journals and drug advertisements in them have a significant role. However the regulation on drug advertisements may vary in countries due to the target group. Healthcare professionals, especially physicians and pharmacists are decision makers on drug-use in Turkey like in many other countries. In this respect, drug advertisements in medical journals aim to give information on drugs. Thus healthcare professionals can be more helpful for their patients if the advertisement contains scientific and unbiased information. Because of these, the content of advertisements is important for public health. In this study, the content of advertisements in two local medical journals; “JAMA Türkiye” and “Eczacı” were investigated by using content analysis. As a result, frequently used messages in advertisements were on the effectiveness of drugs. However, the lack of information about side effects, adverse effects and contraindications in drug advertisements were remarkable. Because of the missing points in drug advertisements’ content, it can be stated that messages in the advertisements may not be objective. In the light of these findings both healthcare professionals and publishers of the journals should be more careful and objective while assessing drug advertisements in order to serve better for their patients.