‘Troubling truth’ hidden in some health campaign messages

A doctor has warned Australians to be on high alert after a new study revealed a concerning health trend.

OPINION

Barely a week goes by when we aren’t bombarded with health campaigns urging us to check for cancer, manage our diabetes, reduce anxiety or lower our cholesterol.

But be wary of who is sending out the message.

If you’re looking over your shoulder for Big Pharma, it could be right in front of you.

Our study reveals the troubling truth about disease awareness campaigns – almost 75 per cent are being influenced by companies that stand to gain financially, raising serious ethical concerns.

Making matters worse is the lack of transparency. Only 37 per cent of the campaigns clearly disclosed their corporate ties on their main pages.

A campaign promoting breast cancer awareness might emphasise the benefits of mammograms and treatments that are profitable for certain companies.

The rest buried this information deep within sub-pages or did not disclose it at all, making it difficult to recognise the potential bias.

For instance, a campaign promoting breast cancer awareness might emphasise the benefits of mammograms and treatments that are profitable for certain companies, while downplaying or ignoring potential risks and alternative options.

Similarly, a campaign for diabetes awareness might push for particular medications or devices manufactured by the sponsoring companies without equally highlighting lifestyle changes or other non-commercial treatments.

In this study we analysed 107 health campaigns endorsed by major organisations such as the World Health Organisation and the US Government, and in collaboration with Minna Johansson (Global Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, Sweden), Mary O’Keeffe (University College Dublin, Ireland), Karsten Juhl Jørgensen (University of Southern Denmark) and Steven Woloshin (Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, US).

A doctor has warned Australians to be wary of disease awareness campaigns after a study revealed they aren’t all what they seem. Picture: iStock

We found 73 per cent of campaigns had some form of commercial involvement in the health issue they were promoting, meaning pharmaceutical giants, medical device manufacturers and wellness brands often have a hand in shaping the health messages the public receives.

These companies frequently fund the campaigns, or provide other support, ensuring their products or services are prominently featured.

These health awareness campaigns are designed by interest groups to highlight the existence, detection and treatment of diseases or risk factors, but offered little or no incentive to have a vaccine or see a medico.

They aimed to influence public knowledge.

Many of the campaigns are officially recognised and promoted by government, public health and research institutions, with such implicit endorsement frequently highlighted in campaigns.

During our research we included campaigns about acquired non-communicable diseases and excluded those mentioned in news items/releases only.

Health campaigns endorsed by major organisations such as the World Health Organisation were analysed. Picture: iStock

We assessed commercial involvement by looking for evidence of sponsorship statements, company logos or references to corporate support/partners.

Most campaigns emphasised the commonness of the condition, listed symptoms and encouraged seeing a doctor (about half provided questions/scripts for the visit) and getting tests.

About one-third encouraged self-diagnosis. Almost none mentioned overdiagnosis or overtreatment.

The proportion of commercial involvement was mentioned with similar frequency across recognising organisations.

We believe if campaigns intend to inform the public rather than promote products, they should strive for balanced messaging that quantifies both benefits and harms and allows comparison.

This, and disclosing commercial involvement, should improve consumer decision-making.

Dr Loai Albarqouni is an Assistant Professor of Research at Bond University’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine in the Gold coast, and Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare. He is a medical practitioner from Palestine and researches clinical epidemiology.