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Missing data on accessibility of children's medicines
Iris R Joosse1, Aukje K Mantel-Teeuwisse1, Veronika J Wirtz2
1Utrecht World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Pharmaceutical Policy and Regulation, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Clinical Pharmacology, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584 CG, Utrecht, Netherlands.
Insights
Access to child-appropriate medicines is poorly monitored due to data gaps. Improved surveys and indicators are crucial for ensuring children receive necessary medications by 2030.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pharmacology
- Global Health
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Child-appropriate medicines are vital for pediatric treatment, but data on their availability and pricing is insufficient.
- Existing monitoring tools often fail to capture essential data specific to children's medication needs.
- A significant data deficit exists for age-appropriate medicines in both surveys and scientific literature.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the current state of data collection for child-appropriate medicines.
- To identify deficiencies in monitoring access to pediatric medications.
- To propose priorities for improving the surveillance of children's medicine access.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from 50 surveys focusing on medicine availability and pricing.
- Review of scientific literature for data on age-appropriate medicines.
- Evaluation of existing data collection instruments for their suitability for pediatric medicine monitoring.
Main Results:
- Child-appropriate medicines for 9 out of 12 priority pediatric diseases were rarely or never surveyed.
- A substantial data gap hinders the adequate monitoring of access to essential medicines for children.
- Current instruments are inadequate for collecting necessary data on pediatric medicine availability and pricing.
Conclusions:
- Dedicated child medicine surveys and standardized instruments are essential for accurate monitoring.
- Health facility readiness tools must include pricing data for child-appropriate medicines.
- Modifying Sustainable Development Goal indicator 3.b.3 is necessary to track children's medicine access effectively.
- Addressing these data deficiencies is critical for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals for child health.
Abstract:
Child-appropriate medicines are essential for the safe and effective treatment of children, yet we have observed a large gap in the data required to adequately monitor access to these medicines. We have examined data on the availability and pricing of child-appropriate medicines across 50 surveys. Child-appropriate medicines for nine out of 12 priority diseases in children were infrequently surveyed or not at all. A similar data deficit on age-appropriate medicines is detectable in the broader scientific literature. We also note that existing instruments for collecting data on the availability or prices of medicines are limited in their ability to generate the required data for children. We have identified four priorities as key for improved monitoring of access to medicines for children: (i) dedicated child medicine surveys are needed on availability and prices of child-appropriate medicines; (ii) standardized survey instruments should include age-appropriate medicines and dosages; (iii) health facility service readiness survey tools should include the collection of data on the price of child-appropriate medicines in addition to the availability of medicines; and (iv) sustainable development goal indicator 3.b.3 should be modified to enable the monitoring of access to medicines for children. These deficiencies need to be addressed to ensure the monitoring of access to child medicines as part of the sustainable development goal agenda for 2030 and to implement appropriate interventions for improving access for this vulnerable population.
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