Cross‐sectional survey of sources of information accompanying veterinary product advertisements in two professional print publications

Background Veterinarians should be able to easily access scientific evidence about medical products and devices to incorporate into their clinical decision making. While the characteristics and quality of supporting information accompanying device and pharmaceutical advertisements have been studied in human medicine, little is known about this topic in veterinary medicine. The aim of this study was to characterise the supporting information provided by manufacturers of prescribed products, tests or devices in promotional material found in two commonly read UK‐based veterinary publications. Methods Advertisements contained in issues of two veterinary periodicals published between July 2017 and July 2018 were analysed for advertisement and product characteristics and for items of accompanying information. Literature searches were conducted to assess the availability of peer‐reviewed sources of information on advertised products. Results A minority (16%) of the 451 analysed advertisements were accompanied by references to peer‐reviewed literature, despite the availability of scientific literature for many of the products advertised. Limitation This study sampled two professional publications over a narrow time period. Conclusions There may be insufficient evidence being provided to veterinary professionals via marketing features; this may limit the accessibility of scientific information for clinical decision making around advertised products.