Televised direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs (hereafter DTCA) are among the most widespread forms of health communication encountered by American adults. DTCA shape public understanding of health problems and support the commercial interests of pharmaceutical companies by offering prescription drugs as a treatment option. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires DTCA to present fair and balanced information regarding drug benefits versus risks. While narrative persuasion theory suggests that narratives can enhance persuasion by facilitating message processing and reducing counter-arguing, prior assessments of the balance between drug benefits versus risk information in DTCA have largely overlooked whether the ads employ narratives and/or other evidentiary strategies that may confer a persuasive advantage. This study content analyzed narrativity in DTCA aired on television between 2003 and 2016 for four different health conditions (heart disease, diabetes, depression, and osteoarthritis). Results showed that while televised DTCA spent more time discussing drug risks than drug benefits, both narratives and factual evidence were more frequently used to communicate drug benefits than drug risks. These findings raise concerns that narratives are strategically used by DTCA to highlight drug benefits rather than drug risks, which could lead to inaccurate perceptions of drug risks among viewers.

直接面向消费者的处方药电视广告（以下简称 DTCA）是美国成年人遇到的最广泛的健康传播形式之一。DTCA 通过提供处方药作为治疗选择来塑造公众对健康问题的理解并支持制药公司的商业利益。美国食品和药物管理局 (FDA) 要求 DTCA 提供有关药物收益与风险的公平和平衡的信息。虽然叙述说服理论表明，叙述可以通过促进信息处理和减少反驳来增强说服力，但先前对 DTCA 中药物益处与风险信息之间平衡的评估在很大程度上忽略了广告是否采用叙述和/或其他可能赋予有说服力的优势。本研究内容分析了 2003 年至 2016 年间电视播出的 DTCA 中四种不同健康状况（心脏病、糖尿病、抑郁症和骨关节炎）的叙述。结果表明，虽然电视转播的 DTCA 花费更多时间讨论药物风险而不是药物益处，但叙述和事实证据更常用于传达药物益处而不是药物风险。这些发现引起了人们的担忧，即 DTCA 战略性地使用叙述来强调药物益处而不是药物风险，这可能导致观众对药物风险的不准确看法。结果表明，虽然电视转播的 DTCA 花费更多时间讨论药物风险而不是药物益处，但叙述和事实证据更常用于传达药物益处而不是药物风险。这些发现引起了人们的担忧，即 DTCA 战略性地使用叙述来强调药物益处而不是药物风险，这可能导致观众对药物风险的不准确看法。结果表明，虽然电视转播的 DTCA 花费更多时间讨论药物风险而不是药物益处，但叙述和事实证据更常用于传达药物益处而不是药物风险。这些发现引起了人们的担忧，即 DTCA 战略性地使用叙述来强调药物益处而不是药物风险，这可能导致观众对药物风险的不准确看法。