Disease Mongering: Real or Fantasy?

1. Your Opinions

 
"Disease mongering" is a term that was coined by the late journalist Lynn Payer to describe what she saw as the confluence of interests by some doctors, drug companies, patient advocacy groups and media in exaggerating the severity of illness and the ability of drugs to "cure" them.

This survey collects comments regarding issues relating to disease mongering. Respondents were asked their opinions regarding specific conditions that have often been characterized as "invented" by the drug industry and their opinions of issued raised by the the authors of a this PLoS report.

After finishing the survey, you will be taken to a summary review of the results to date, including comments.

Your response is totally anonymous - we do not request any personally identifiable information.

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1. Considering that all drugs have side effects, how would you characterize the following conditions as regards the use of drugs for treatment?
A very serious medical condition, afflicting tens of millions, that is best treated with drugsA real medical condition that could be mitigated by lifestyle changes as well as by drugsA simple lifestyle issue that should not be treated with drugsDon't know or No opinion
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
Over-Active Bladder (OAB)
Insomnia
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Female Sexual Dysfunction
Erectile Dysfunction (ED)
Menopause
Age-related facial wrinkles
Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS)
2. In your opinion, how important is each of the following factors in influencing pharmaceutical companies about which drugs to develop and bring to market?
Extremely ImportantSomewhat ImportantNeutralSomewhat unimportantNot important at all!
Unmet medical need
Sales or profit potential
3. Indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree with the following statements.
Strongly AgreeAgree SomewhatNeither Agree Nor Disagree or Not ApplicableDisagree SomewhatDisagree Strongly
Disease mongering is a natural outgrowth of DTC advertising, which tends to broaden its audience as much as possible to justify the expense.
Big pharma has accelerated disease mongering because blockbusters don't happen anymore.
Disease mongering is a major factor in the loss of pharmaceutical industry credibility.
4. Please add any comments here.
5. Please indicate your affiliation (choose the one that best describes the type of organization you are involved in).