Dataset Information

Medical students' exposure to and attitudes towards product promotion and incentives from the pharmaceutical industry in 2019: a national cross-sectional study in France.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To measure medical students' exposure to pharmaceutical product promotion and incentives nationwide, and to evaluate students' attitudes towards the pharmaceutical industry, access to education on promotional strategies and knowledge of institutional policies about drug company-student relationships.

Design

Cross-sectional survey based on a 48-item anonymous questionnaire.

Setting

All 37 French medical schools, from March to April 2019.

Participants

French medical students in their 4th year of study and beyond, having studied exclusively in France.

Main outcome measure

Cumulative frequency of students' exposure to pharmaceutical product promotion and incentives.

Secondary outcome measures

Exposure within the last 6 months, attitudes regarding interactions with the industry, access to education on pharmaceutical product promotion and incentives and knowledge of institutional policies.

Results

6280 responses were analysed (10.4% out of a total of 60 550 eligible students). 5992 students (96.3% poststratification, 99% CI (96.1% to 96.5%)) had already been exposed to pharmaceutical product promotion and incentives and 4650 (78.1%, 99% CI (77.7% to 78.6%)) within the last 6 months. 5140 students (85.4%, 99% CI (84.8% to 85.8%)) had met a pharmaceutical representative. Regarding attitudes, 2195 students (36.8%, 99% CI (36.0% to 37.5%)) thought receiving a gift could influence their own prescriptions while 3252 (53.6%, 99% CI (53.1% to 54.2%)) thought it could influence their colleagues' prescriptions. 4533 students (76.0%, 99% CI (75.6% to 76.5%)) reported never having attended any lecture on promotional strategies. Exposure seemed to depend on the year of study and specialty. 5122 (88.1%, 99% CI (87.7% to 88.4%)) did not know whether their faculty had a policy regarding drug company-student interactions.

Conclusion

In France in 2019, medical students' exposure to pharmaceutical product promotion and incentives remains considerable and starts early during medical training. Education on promotional strategies and institutional policies should be improved to ensure responsible and ethical behaviour in prescribing medications.

SUBMITTER: Molina M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9305804 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Medical students' exposure to and attitudes towards product promotion and incentives from the pharmaceutical industry in 2019: a national cross-sectional study in France.

Molina Martin M Boëffard Adeline A Esvan Maxime M Bastian Benjamin B

BMJ open 20220720 7

<h4>Objectives</h4>To measure medical students' exposure to pharmaceutical product promotion and incentives nationwide, and to evaluate students' attitudes towards the pharmaceutical industry, access to education on promotional strategies and knowledge of institutional policies about drug company-student relationships.<h4>Design</h4>Cross-sectional survey based on a 48-item anonymous questionnaire.<h4>Setting</h4>All 37 French medical schools, from March to April 2019.<h4>Participants</h4>French ...[more]

PMID: 35858728

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Project description:BackgroundA training physician has his first interaction with a pharmaceutical representative during medical school. Medical students are often provided with small gifts such as pens, calendars and books, as well as free lunches as part of drug promotion offers. Ethical impact of these transactions as perceived by young medical students has not been investigated in Pakistan before. This study aimed to assess the association of socio-demographic variables with the attitudes of medical students towards pharmaceutical companies and their incentives.MethodsAs part of a cross-sectional survey, a validated questionnaire previously used for assessing attitude of medical students towards pharmaceutical industry, was modified, pre-tested and distributed among consenting clinical year students at DUHS and AKU. Questions included acceptability of pharmaceutically sponsored gifts, events and tuition fee, and their impact on future prescription. Responses were graded as agree, disagree or neutral which were then scored according to the AMSA guidelines of ethical conduct.ResultsOut of a total of 353 targeted students 303 responded, corresponding to a response rate of 85.8%. Responses indicated that 42.7% students believed in no interaction with drug companies during medical school. However, 81% of students favored pharmaceutical sponsorship of student-body events/seminars at medical colleges. More than one-third of the students were comfortable receiving gifts from drug companies. Overall, the results of this study offer an interesting comparison between the students of a private medical school (AKU) and a public medical school (DUHS); AKU students exhibited a greater degree of mistrust towards drug information provided by pharmaceutical companies compared to DUHS students (p = 0.040). Furthermore, when asked if there was a need to incorporate guidelines in the undergraduate curriculum with regard to interaction with drug companies, 84.2% students at AKU agreed, compared to 54.9% at DUHS. Medical student Attitude Scores are more or less similar to each other independent of their various demographical differences.ConclusionThis study highlights that medical students in our population have a high level of acceptability towards incentives offered by pharmaceutical industry and that formal guidance regarding the subject should be incorporated into medical curriculum.

Project description:BackgroundThe relationship between health professionals and the pharmaceutical industry has become a source of controversy. Physicians' attitudes towards the industry can form early in their careers, but little is known about this key stage of development.Methods and findingsWe performed a systematic review reported according to PRISMA guidelines to determine the frequency and nature of medical students' exposure to the drug industry, as well as students' attitudes concerning pharmaceutical policy issues. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and ERIC from the earliest available dates through May 2010, as well as bibliographies of selected studies. We sought original studies that reported quantitative or qualitative data about medical students' exposure to pharmaceutical marketing, their attitudes about marketing practices, relationships with industry, and related pharmaceutical policy issues. Studies were separated, where possible, into those that addressed preclinical versus clinical training, and were quality rated using a standard methodology. Thirty-two studies met inclusion criteria. We found that 40%-100% of medical students reported interacting with the pharmaceutical industry. A substantial proportion of students (13%-69%) were reported as believing that gifts from industry influence prescribing. Eight studies reported a correlation between frequency of contact and favorable attitudes toward industry interactions. Students were more approving of gifts to physicians or medical students than to government officials. Certain attitudes appeared to change during medical school, though a time trend was not performed; for example, clinical students (53%-71%) were more likely than preclinical students (29%-62%) to report that promotional information helps educate about new drugs.ConclusionsUndergraduate medical education provides substantial contact with pharmaceutical marketing, and the extent of such contact is associated with positive attitudes about marketing and skepticism about negative implications of these interactions. These results support future research into the association between exposure and attitudes, as well as any modifiable factors that contribute to attitudinal changes during medical education. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.

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Dataset Information

Medical students' exposure to and attitudes towards product promotion and incentives from the pharmaceutical industry in 2019: a national cross-sectional study in France.

Objectives

Design

Setting

Participants

Main outcome measure

Secondary outcome measures

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Medical students' exposure to and attitudes towards product promotion and incentives from the pharmaceutical industry in 2019: a national cross-sectional study in France.

Similar Datasets

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