Direct-to-consumer prescription medication advertisements and obtaining prescriptions with or without a doctor's prescription.

This study examines variables associated with behavior for obtaining prescription medications with or without doctors' prescriptions following direct-to-consumer prescription medication advertisement (DTCA) exposure. Data were analyzed from 631 college students. We found that viewing traditional or cable television DTCA was associated with lower agreement for obtaining prescription medications from a doctor. Reading social media DTCA print content on Twitter was associated with higher agreement for obtaining a prescription medication without a doctor's prescription. In conclusion, college students go for digital social media DTCA and not digital Internet DTCA or traditional DTCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]