Factors affecting trust in on-line prescription drug information and impact of trust on behavior following exposure to DTC advertising

Despite growing concerns about the quality and accuracy of Internet-based prescription drug information, there has been very little empirical research on consumers' perceptions of the trustworthiness of on-line drug information. In this article, we report on a study modeled after that of Menon, Deshpande, Perri, and Zinkhan (2002) in Health Marketing Quarterly that reexamines how key demographic, predispositional, and media factors are associated with consumer trust in on-line prescription drug information and the impact of trust in on-line drug information on ad-promoted behavior following exposure to direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising. Four major findings are reported: (1) on-line drug information is not highly trusted; (2) trust in on-line drug information is not differentially affected by consumer demographic or predispositional characteristics; (3) trust in the traditional media of DTC advertising is predictive of trust in on-line drug information; and (4) trust in on-line drug information is associated directly with specific types of ad-promoted behavior following exposure to DTC advertising. Implications and recommendations are offered based on the results.