Complementary medicine advertising: Are current advertisements reaching the mark?
7 Nov 2007 | Bernie Goldie
Many Australians are users of complementary medicine with 50% of people having used some type of natural therapy.
Complementary medicine refers to herbal products including vitamin and mineral supplements as well as massage treatments and traditional Chinese medicine.
Recent consumer interest in complementary medicine has given rise to the number of natural therapy products now found in pharmacies and supermarkets as well as health food stores. As complementary medicine supplements such as glucosamine for treating arthritis continue to attract attention, the number of advertisements focused on promoting these items has also increased.
At present, it is not known how current complementary medicine advertisements are viewed by the public. Keen to investigate this, researchers at the University of Wollongong are conducting a study which aims to examine how advertising has an impact on people’s understanding of complementary medicine treatments.
The team is seeking female participants (aged 45 years and over) to volunteer for the study. Volunteers must be willing to participate in a one-off group discussion on complementary medicine advertisements and to speak freely about current complementary medicine advertisements, to be shown at the time of the group discussion.
Researchers expect that this will take about 90 minutes. It is not assumed that volunteers will have any prior use or knowledge of complementary medicine products. Participants will be provided with a free copy of the final report.
Contact number for volunteers: For further information on the study and criteria details, please contact Michelle Richards on 0404 391135, Lyn Phillipson on 4221 5810 or email: mrichard@uow.edu.au
Media contacts: Media wishing to speak with somebody involved with the research project should contact either Michelle Richards on 0404 391135 or Professor Sandra Jones on (02) 4221 5106 or 0402 848 743.
|
