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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Drug Deliv.
Sec. Drug Delivery for Special Patient Populations
Volume 5 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fddev.2025.1555522
Poor-tasting pediatric medicines: Part 2. Exploring caregiver and healthcare provider values and preferences for a novel taste-blocker product to improve acceptability
Provisionally accepted- Routes2Results, London, United Kingdom
Improving the palatability of bitter-tasting medication for pediatric populations has long presented a challenge. Taste blockers are being researched as a potential solution; however, end-user perspectives and needs related to this concept have not been explored. The objectives of this research were 1) to understand current experiences of administering bitter-tasting medication; 2) the evaluation of a consumer-targeted product profile (CTPP) for a taste blocker including attributes such as form and duration of action; and 3) whether there is a need to support improved acceptability and adherence with a taste blocker taken before the bitter-tasting medication.Methods: Our study consisted of simultaneous qualitative and quantitative phases, involving caregivers and healthcare providers with experience administering medications to children aged 2 to 17 years. Qualitative research was conducted with 120 caregivers and 92 healthcare providers using a range of methods. Focus groups (FGs) were conducted in Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe (grouped as Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) but not intended to be representative of the region as a whole) with caregivers of children who had taken medication for HIV, TB,
Keywords: drug formulation, Drug delivery, palatability, Africa, attributes, adherence, bitter
Received: 04 Jan 2025; Accepted: 26 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 El-Sahn, Elliott, El-Sahn, Lucas, Kong, Walsh and Lucas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Moushira El-Sahn, Routes2Results, London, United Kingdom
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