Colour of Medicines and Children’s Acceptability? A Systematic Literature Review of Children’s Perceptions about Colours of Oral Dosage Forms

Abstract

The colour of a product plays an important role in consumer experiences, and in the context of pharmaceutical products, this could potentially affect a patient’s expectations, behaviours, and adherence. Several studies have been conducted on adults, but little is known about children’s opinions on colours of medicines and to what extent medicines’ colour affects their acceptability. To address this gap, a systematic search in PubMed, Scopus, MEDLINE, and Web of Science was conducted. Two authors independently screened the titles, abstracts, and references of all articles and selected studies conducted on children (0–18 years old), assessing children’s preferences or opinions about colour of oral dosage forms as either a primary or secondary objective or as an anecdotal record. A total of 989 publications were identified and, after screening, 18 publications were included in the review. Red and pink were the most liked colours and there appeared to be a relationship between the colour of a medicine and expected taste/flavour. The review also highlighted a scarcity of information, usually collected as an anecdotal record. Several gaps in the current knowledge were underlined, emphasizing the need of patient-centred studies to understand if the use of certain colours can improve or worsen the acceptability of a paediatric medicine. This will help inform pharmaceutical manufacturers and regulators on the role and need of colours in children’s medicines beyond quality purposes.

Patient Acceptability and Preferences for Solid Oral Dosage Form Drug Product Attributes: A Scoping Review

“…Mouthfeel was also seen to impact palatability and thus acceptability of particular drug products, highlighting that mouthfeel is not just a function of taste alone. Interestingly, the perceived taste can also be influenced by appearance; one systematic literature review of drug product preferences found an apparent relationship between the color of a drug product and the expected taste, 28 in particular among pediatric patients, 28 though color sensitivity can vary by demographic characteristics, such as age and sex, and cultural characteristics. 24 The variability of findings related to drug product color preference underlines the need for more patient-centered studies that better evaluate the effects of appearance on the acceptability of drug products.…”

“…24 The variability of findings related to drug product color preference underlines the need for more patient-centered studies that better evaluate the effects of appearance on the acceptability of drug products. 28 With regard to the texture, smooth, slippery, and less bitter drug products (ie, those with a coating) were easier to swallow and preferred by patients, though as a lesser priority than size and shape.…”

“…24–27 However, previous research has highlighted limited documentation of the relationship between drug product attributes and patient acceptability and preferences, with most information recorded anecdotally. 28 …”

“… 29 Furthermore, multimorbidity and age-related differences, such as changes in cognition, motor function, and sensory functions of patients, also need to be considered when developing drug products. 28 , 30–33 …”

“…[24][25][26][27] However, previous research has highlighted limited documentation of the relationship between drug product attributes and patient acceptability and preferences, with most information recorded anecdotally. 28 There are differing perspectives about the influence of demographic characteristics on patients' acceptability and preferences for drug product attributes. While some authors recognize similarities between different age groups (eg, pediatric and older adult patients), 9 others have highlighted potential differences by age and sex, cultural characteristics, and disease.…”