Published 23 September 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a1772
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a1772

Letters

Tackling health inequalities

Inequity in the market place

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Another aspect of inequity in health care warrants attention.¹ Direct to consumer advertising in the US targets not only insured healthcare consumers. Inequity in the US healthcare system has created a large pool (well over 40 million by some accounts) of uninsured healthcare consumers who are being targeted through advertisements to participate in clinical trials. Over 3.2 million people participate in clinical trials in the US a year, and a growing number cannot afford basic health care.²

This inequity is exploited by advertising to uninsured people medical care that they do not normally receive but can access by participating in medical research. It is also being framed or marketed as a viable healthcare choice and opportunity for people who do not have insurance.³ Many research participants will not only lose some form of medical care when a clinical trial ends but will also not be able to afford the very . . . [Full text of this article]

¹ Health Research Associates, Ottawa, ON, Canada K2B 6J4

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