ObjectivesTo assess the nature, quality and independence of scientific evidence provided in support of claims in industry-authored educational materials in oral health.DesignA content analysis of educational materials authored by the four major multinational oral health product manufacturers.SettingAcute care settings.Participants68 documents focused on oral health or oral care, targeted at acute care clinicians and identified as ‘educational’ on companies’ international websites.Main outcome measuresData were extracted in duplicate for three areas of focus: (a) products referenced in the documents, (b) product-related claims and (c) citations substantiating claims. We assessed claim–citation pairs to determine if information in the citation supported the claim. We analysed the inter-relationships among cited authors and companies using social network analysis.ResultsDocuments ranged from training videos to posters to brochures to continuing education courses. The majority of educational materials explicitly mentioned a product (59/68, 87%), a branded product (35/68, 51%), and made a product-related claim (55/68, 81%). Among claims accompanied by a citation, citations did not support the majority (91/147, 62%) of claims, largely because citations were unrelated. References used to support claims most often represented lower levels of evidence: only 9% were systematic reviews (7/76) and 13% were randomised controlled trials (10/76). We found a network of 20 authors to account for 37% (n=77/206) of all references in claim–citation pairs; 60% (12/20) of the top 20 cited authors received financial support from one of the four sampled manufacturers.ConclusionsResources to support clinicians’ ongoing education are scarce. However, caution should be exercised when relying on industry-authored materials to support continuing education for oral health. Evidence of sponsorship bias and reliance on key opinion leaders suggests that industry-authored educational materials have promotional intent and should be regulated as such.
Aims and objectives: To document the nature of industry-authored educational materials focused on oral health; and analyse how they construct the relationships between nurses and industry. Background: Nurses frequently rely on pharmaceutical and medical device companies for continuing education. However, industry-sponsored education is a key aspect of multi-faceted promotional campaigns and may introduce bias into clinical decision-making. Design: Critical qualitative content analysis reported according to the COREQ checklist. Methods: We purposively sampled educational documents from the websites of 4 major manufacturers of oral health products for acute care. Two researchers analysed each document using an open-ended coding form. We conducted an interpretive analysis using inductive coding methods. Results: We included 63 documents that emphasised the importance of education in the form of training, expert guidance, evidence syntheses and protocols to support oral care practices. Industry promoted its relationship with nursing as an oral health authority through three dominant messages: (1) Pneumonia is a source of morbidity, mortality and treatment costs, which informed nurses about a critical problem; (2) Comprehensive oral care reduces pneumonia risk, which instructed nurses about product-oriented solutions; and (3) Frequent oral care is important, which emphasised compliance to standardised protocols. These messages formed an accountability logic that prompted clinicians to address a problem for which the company's products served as a solution. In doing so, industry validated dominant administrative concerns including compliance, while promoting product uptake. Conclusions: Industry-authored educational materials may promote industry interests, rather than nursing or patient agendas. Dependence on industry's information and product solutions may have unintended, negative consequences for nursing practice.
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