Attitudes of older Americans toward direct-to-consumer advertising: Predictors of impact

Objective: To assess the attitudes of Americans overage 60 concerning direct-to-consumer (CTC) advertising of prescription drugs and o determine if gender, race, income, or level of education has an impact on the attitudes of the elderly toward DTC advertising. Design: A seven-page survey, constructed using the 1992 National Health Interview Survey as a model, was used to assess the attitudes of elderly individuals toward DTC advertising of prescription drugs. Subjects were interviewed by one of four investigators. The face-to-face interview took about 15 minute to complete. Participants: Two hundred sixty-three subjects over age 60 were recruited from the greater Kansas City metropolitan area for participation in the survey. Measurements: Responses to survey queries were limited to "true," "false," or "don't know." Demographic data were collected prior to the start of the survey. Data collected using the instrument were prospectively stratified based upon age, race, gender, estimated total household income, and level of education, and analyzed for statistical significance using Chisquared and Fisher's exact methods. Results: