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Published on: June 29, 2019

Screening for, and overcoming, 'pill aversion' in community pharmacy using a novel educational tool: Hard pill to

Alice P McCloskey¹, Johanne Nesbit¹, A P Rathbone²

¹School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, James Parsons Building, Byrom St, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK.

Research in Social & Administrative Pharmacy : RSAP

|December 2, 2025

Abstract

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:

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.

Keywords:

Capsules Community pharmacy Medication adherence Patient education Pills Solid oral dosage forms Swallowing difficulties Tablets

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