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The Impact of Drug Samples on Clinical Recommendations in Dental Education
Author(s) -
Hujoel Philippe P.,
Gillette Jane
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of dental education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1930-7837
pISSN - 0022-0337
DOI - 10.1002/j.0022-0337.2011.75.10.tb05177.x
Subject(s) - medicine , odds ratio , odds , confidence interval , drug , drug class , dentistry , family medicine , etiology , brand names , advertising , psychiatry , logistic regression , business
The distribution of branded drug samples in an educational setting may obscure the line between an evidence‐based and a marketing‐based education. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of branded drug samples on clinical recommendations in a dental education setting. Survey respondents exposed (n=95) and unexposed (n=80) to a specific branded drug sample program containing non‐patented ingredients responded to a brief questionnare on recommendations for dentinal hypersensitivity. The results showed that an exposure to the branded drug sample was associated with twelve‐fold increased odds for recommending the brand name (95 percent confidence interval [CI]: 5.8–24.5; p<0.0001); 2.6‐fold increased odds for recommending the therapeutic class to which the branded drug sample belonged (95 percent CI: 1.1–6.0; p=0.02); a 66 percent reduction in odds for considering other therapeutic classes (95 percent CI: 0.18–0.63; p=0.00015); and an 84 percent reduction in considering etiology (95 percent CI: 0.08–0.35; p<0.0001). We conclude that branded drug samples in a dental education setting were associated with increasing brand recommendation, narrowing therapeutic thinking, and decreased consideration for removing causes.