QUESTIONS ABOUT DRUGS - HOW DO PREGNANT-WOMEN SOLVE THEM

In this study the need for information about drugs among pregnant women and the use of available sources was explored. The women participating in this study were well aware of the risks of the use of drugs. Health professionals were considered to be important sources of information and they should therefore use up-to-date information concerning this topic. Health professionals should also bear in mind in their counseling activities that the beliefs of pregnant women on the safety and need of drugs might lead to reasoned non-compliance

JOURNALISTS AND THEIR SOURCES OF IDEAS AND INFORMATION ON MEDICINES

In this article we describe from which sources science writers who write about medicines in daily newspapers get their ideas and information. This study was undertaken because mass media, and therefore newspapers, can play an important role in the diffusion of information about medicines. Two approaches, interviews and a content analysis, were used to answer the research questions. Both methods show the importance of professional medical journals and information from universities and their hospitals as sources of ideas and information. Although the pharmaceutical industry did not seem to play a role as source of ideas and information according to the journalists, it is the third most frequently cited source of information in the newspaper articles. To gain a better insight in the role of the pharmaceutical industry as source of ideas and information for newspaper journalists further research is necessary