The Effects of Health Consciousness and Familiarity with DTCA on Perceptions of Dietary Supplements

Abstract

This study examines the effect of consumer health-consciousness on attitude toward dietary supplements as well as consumer perceptions of supplement risks and benefits when compared to their prescription drug counterparts. The authors investigate three conditions (insomnia, depression, and high cholesterol) with both a prescription drug and dietary supplement regimen available. Results indicate that health consciousness is positively related to attitudes toward dietary supplements, which is positively related to perceived supplement benefits, but negatively associated with perceived supplement risks. Mediating effects of attitudes toward dietary supplements are also found. Moreover, familiarity with direct to consumer advertising (DTCA) moderates the relationship between health consciousness and attitude toward dietary supplements. Our findings suggest that knowledge may play a key role in attitude and perception formation and that both benefit and risk information about supplements should be provided to consumers so they can make informed decisions about their health.Over the past two decades, US consumers have been targeted with ever-increasing amounts of product information related to health-enhancing products and services. The broadened use of advertisements and other types of promotions in support of these offerings has drawn much greater scrutiny from a variety of regulatory, media, and consumer advocacy sources. As the level of scrutiny and content of regulatory directives differ markedly across product categories, consumers have become inundated with seemingly conflicting information about various types of healthcare goods and services. For example, consumers may be exposed to an ad touting the healthy heart benefits of MegaRed ® Omega 3

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