Survey on Oral Formulations
Evidence based data on preference of dosage forms are crucial for guiding the development of age-appropriate medicines. Often, preferences across different age groups are considered, but studies on variations in preferences across populations, which may be crucial to acceptability, are lacking.
To this aim, EPTRI has developed a survey utilising country and age-adapted questions to quantify children’s experience with taking various pharmaceutical formulations.
It was reviewed and translated by the Young Persons Advisory Groups (YPAGs) of Albania, Barcelona and Bari to make the language and layout more child-friendly. So far, the survey received 506 answers from Italy, 447 from Spain, 209 from Albania, 205 from Romania, 187 from Netherlands, 131 from UK, 15 from Africa, 20 from Czech Republic and 5 from Sweden.
The survey is addressed to boys and girls up to 18 years of age and can be completed with the help of an adult. It will take approximately 5 minutes to be completed.
The survey is still open and available in 10 languages. The Hausa translation has been developed thanks to the kind contribution and support of Hafsat Rufai Ahmad, Associate Professor Paediatric Haematology/Oncology at the Ahmadu Bello University (Zaria, Nigeria) Chief Consultant at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital and Aliyu Mande, Health Information Management officer and Community Mobilizer at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (Zaria, Nigeria).
- AL: https://tinyurl.com/EPTRIsurveyOralMedsAlbania
- CZ: https://tinyurl.com/EPTRIsurveyOralMedsCzech
- EE: https://tinyurl.com/EPTRIsurveyOralMedsEstonia
- EN/HA Africa: https://tinyurl.com/EPTRIsurveyOralMedsAfrica
- EN UK: https://tinyurl.com/EPTRIsurveyOralMedsUK
- EN USA: https://tinyurl.com/EPTRIsurveyOralMedsUSA
- IT: https://tinyurl.com/EPTRIsurveyOralMedsItaly
- NL: https://tinyurl.com/EPTRIsurveyOralMedsTheNed
- RO: https://tinyurl.com/EPTRIsurveyOralMedsRomania
- SE: https://tinyurl.com/EPTRIsurveyOralMedsSweden
- SP: https://tinyurl.com/EPTRIsurveyOralMedsSpain
If you have questions about this survey, please feel free to send us an email at [email protected].
The preliminary analysis shows important similarities and differences in preference for formulations across the different countries and shows how the health status of a child influences the preference of certain medicine types with variations across the different populations. In Spain, children preferred liquid formulations regardless of treating a chronic condition or not, while in Albania and Romania, tablets and capsules respectively were preferred among children treating chronic conditions.
The results also highlight the importance of children’s involvement as active stakeholders, as well as the importance to study preferences for kinds of oral formulations in developing tools to facilitate paediatric medicines formulation.