TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2016//
TI  - Communicating information concerning potential medication harms and benefits: what gist do numbers convey?
JO  - Patient education and counseling
A1  - Blalock, Susan J.
A1  - Sage, Adam
A1  - Bitonti, Michael
A1  - Patel, Payal
A1  - Dickinson, Rebecca
A1  - Knapp, Peter
SP  - 1964
EP  - 1970
VL  - 99
IS  - 12
N2  - OBJECTIVES: Fuzzy trace theory was used to examine the effect of information concerning medication benefits and side-effects on willingness to use a hypothetical medication. <br><br>METHODS: Participants (N=999) were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Using 3×5 experimental research design, each participant viewed information about medication side effects in 1 of 3 formats and information about medication benefits in 1 of 5 formats. For both side-effects and benefits, one format presented only non-numeric information and the remaining formats presented numeric information. <br><br>RESULTS: Individuals in the non-numeric side-effect condition were less likely to take the medication than those in the numeric conditions (p<0.0001). In contrast, individuals in the non-numeric benefit condition were more likely to take the medication than those in the numeric conditions (p<0.0001). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that non-numeric side-effect information conveys the gist that the medication can cause harm, decreasing willingness to use the medication; whereas non-numeric benefit information has the opposite effect. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Presenting side-effect and benefit information in non-numeric format appears to bias decision-making in opposite directions. Providing numeric information for both benefits and side-effects may enhance decision-making. However, providing numeric benefit information may decrease adherence, creating ethical dilemmas for providers.<br><br>Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0738-3991
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2016.07.022
ID  - ref1
ER  -