Parent-Reported Satisfaction, Perceived Child Acceptance, and Ease of Administration of a Strawberry-Flavoured Ibuprofen Suspension for Children: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Experienced Users in Germany.

Abstract

Background: Palatability and ease of administration are recognised as key determinants of medication adherence in paediatric populations. Oral ibuprofen suspensions are among the most commonly used analgesic and antipyretic medications for children in Germany, yet parental and parent-perceived child perspectives on these formulation attributes remain underreported for the German market.

Methods: A cross-sectional, online market-research survey, commissioned to substantiate potential product communication claims, was conducted among 1005 parents residing in Germany, each of whom had administered a strawberry-flavoured ibuprofen suspension (Nurofen Junior Fever and Pain Suspension Strawberry, Reckitt Benckiser) to at least one child aged 3 months to 12 years within the preceding 12 months. Closed-ended items assessed overall satisfaction, willingness to recommend, parent-perceived child acceptance, perceived ease of administration, and taste satisfaction; all product-specific statements (Q17 and Q18) used a binary agree/do-not-agree format without a neutral option.

Results: Overall satisfaction with the product was reported by 99% of respondents (995/1005), and 98% (985/1005) stated they would recommend it to other parents. Agreement rates exceeded 90% for all primary claim statements (Q18): easy and safe to administer (96%), satisfied with how well the child takes the medicine (92%), well accepted by child (92%), satisfied with flavour (92%), good feeling child takes medicine without problems (91%), child finds taste pleasant (90%), child likes the taste (90%), and child takes it without problems (88%). For comparative acceptance statements (Q17), agreement ranged from 83% to 93%. Fever was the primary indication for use (91%), and the product was used a mean of 3.3 times per year.

Conclusions: These findings provide consumer-reported, real-world survey data indicating that, among surveyed parents with recent personal experience of using the product, reported satisfaction and perceived child acceptance were high. Because participation required experience with the product within the previous 12 months, while allowing concomitant experience with other paediatric products, and because fever and pain episodes commonly occur more than once over a year in children, the study relied on parent-reported outcomes. The study was designed as a descriptive survey of user experiences and was not intended as a comparative evaluation; accordingly, no comparator was included. The findings should therefore be interpreted as descriptive of this study population and cannot be used to infer comparative performance, improved adherence, or better clinical outcomes; they may, however, help identify taste and ease of administration as candidate domains of paediatric acceptability to be examined in future, more rigorously designed studies.