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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Alice McCloskeyORCiD, Dr Adam RathboneORCiD, Nicola Vasey, Dr Yincent TseORCiD, Dr Emma Lim
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Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier Inc.Background Solid oral dosage forms (pills) are commonly dispensed but frequently patients struggle to take these (pill aversion). This is rarely identified or addressed in clinical practice. The KidzMed programme teaches children to swallow pills, but to date it has not been used to support adults with pill aversion. Objectives • Assess in community pharmacy the acceptability of screening for pill aversion • Test an educational leaflet tailored for adults to support with pill swallowing Methods Participants were recruited via pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria using convenience sampling at three Liverpool-based community pharmacies over a one-month period. A screening questionnaire was completed and adults >18 years identified with pill aversion (score of 6+ on the PILL-5 screening tool) supplied with an adapted educational leaflet from the KidzMed programme. Successful pill swallowing using the leaflet was assessed via phone-call two weeks later. Institutional ethics reference (PBS/2023-23/01). Results Overall, 246 participants were screened, 9 % (n = 22) were identified as having pill aversion. There was an association with younger age and female gender. Follow-up showed that the leaflet was well received, participants found it useful, had changed their pill swallowing technique because of it, and shared this knowledge with others. Conclusions Pill aversion is an underexplored issue. The positive impact of the adapted leaflet in adults reflects the success of KidzMed for children. Further work is needed to confirm the association of age and gender with pill aversion, and determine translatability of the adapted leaflet to a wider audience and other healthcare settings.
Author(s): McCloskey AP, Nesbit J, Rathbone AP, Vasey N, McCabe PG, Flynn S, Bal S, Mulraney K, Hamilton S, Ali H, Holebrooke-Steele K, Tse Y, Lim EJ
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy
Year: 2025
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 26/11/2025
Acceptance date: 25/11/2025
ISSN (print): 1551-7411
ISSN (electronic): 1934-8150
Publisher: Elsevier Inc.
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2025.11.007
DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2025.11.007
PubMed id: 41330801
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