[e-drug] Stories on giving medicines to children

["Atieno Ojoo" <atisojoo@yahoo.co.uk>]

E-DRUG: Stories on giving medicines to children
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear colleagues
   
Many times, including in this forum, we have discussed the challenges of not having age appropriate formulations of medicines for children, or not having dose administration devices, especially in developing countries. We have managed to express these challenges in the abstract, making reference to experiences.
   
I would like to bring in another angle to this discussion-that of our own personal experiences as parents, guardians, caregivers and health professionals.
   
As a parent/guardian/caregiver to a child, or having been a parent/guardian/caregiver to a child, it is likely that you will have given that child some form of medicine or observed the child being administered medicine by someone else.
   
I would like to capture stories on the good times when children took medicines with ease and the challenging times when children had difficulty taking medicines, whether it is by mouth, injection or other routes of administriation. What made it so good or what made it so difficult? 
   
Would you be so kind as to share your real stories with me via email? Feel free to share experiences from older children, including adolescents too.
   
This is part of a collection to try and understand more the real end user challenges that are related to the lack of appropriate formulations of medicines for children or lack of devices for administration of medicine. 
   
I would recommend that you reply specifically to me. Do not click reply as it will go to all,unless you want to. 
   
Look forward to hearing from you soon
   
Atieno Ojoo, BPharm, MPH
Technical Specialist, Pharmaceuticals
Unicef Supply Division
Unicef Plads, Freeport
2100 Copenhagen
Denmark
Tel: +45 35 27 31 03
Fax: +45 35 26 94 21
aojoo@unicef.org
atisojoo@yahoo.co.uk
www.unicef.org/supply