Patient-Centric Medicine Design: Key Characteristics of Oral Solid Dosage Forms that Improve Adherence and Acceptance in Older People

Zakia Shariff; Daniel Kirby; Shahrzad Missaghi; Ali Rajabi-Siahboomi; Ian Maidment

doi:10.3390/pharmaceutics12100905

Patient-Centric Medicine Design: Key Characteristics of Oral Solid Dosage Forms that Improve Adherence and Acceptance in Older People

Zakia Shariff, Daniel Kirby, Shahrzad Missaghi, Ali Rajabi-Siahboomi, Ian Maidment

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Older people represent a very heterogeneous patient population and are the major user group of medication. Age-related changes mean that this population can encounter barriers towards taking medicines orally. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of oral solid dosage forms that contribute to an age appropriate dosage design, with an aim to improve overall medication adherence and acceptance in older people. Fifty-two semistructured interviews were conducted with older people, informal (family) carers, and health and social care professionals. Formulation characteristics impacted three stages of the medication taking process: (1) medication identification and memorability, (2) medication handling and (3) swallowability. Small round tablets (≤7 mm) are least accepted amongst older people and their carers and had a negative impact on all stages. The use of bright, two-coloured preparations and interesting shapes improves identification and further aids memorability of indications and the timing of tablets. Palatability, while useful to enhance swallowability, also has an impact on the visual appeal and memorability of medication. Environmental, patient, medication and disease characteristics also determine preferences for formulation. Developing an age appropriate dosage design for older people, therefore, requires a holistic, patient-centric approach to improve adherence and acceptance.

Original language	English
Article number	905
Number of pages	15
Journal	Pharmaceutics
Volume	12
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics12100905
Publication status	Published - 23 Sept 2020

Bibliographical note

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access
article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
(CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Funding: This research was supported by funding from Colorcon® and Aston University.

Keywords

Acceptance
Adherence
Older people
Oral solid
Patient centric

Access to Document

10.3390/pharmaceutics12100905Licence: CC BY 3.0

Patient-Centric Medicine Design
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Final published version, 1.29 MBLicence: CC BY 3.0

Cite this

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Patient-Centric Medicine Design: Key Characteristics of Oral Solid Dosage Forms that Improve Adherence and Acceptance in Older People

Abstract

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Patient Centric Medicine Design: An Investigation into Understanding and Enhancing Older People’s Adherence to and Acceptance of Oral Solid Dosage Forms

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Patient-Centric Medicine Design: Key Characteristics of Oral Solid Dosage Forms that Improve Adherence and Acceptance in Older People

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Bibliographical note

Keywords

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Patient Centric Medicine Design: An Investigation into Understanding and Enhancing Older People’s Adherence to and Acceptance of Oral Solid Dosage Forms

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