OBJECTIVES Age-related changes mean that the older population can encounter barriers toward taking medication orally. Further work is needed to identify the characteristics of oral solid dosage forms that will improve patient acceptance and adherence. The aim of this systematic review was to identify if and how formulation aspects of oral solid dosage forms affect acceptance and adherence in older people. DESIGN Mixed methods systematic review using a data-based convergent synthesis design. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Articles were selected if they included participants aged 60 years and older, or included health care professionals, social care professionals, and informal carers of patients aged 60 years and older. METHODS A systematic search of the following databases was undertaken: Web of Science, MEDLINE, Scopus, and The Cochrane Databases. The search of databases was supplemented by a search of gray literature, and reference lists of included papers were manually searched. RESULTS A total of 16 studies were included in the final synthesis. Three themes were generated from the thematic analysis: (1) dimensions, (2) palatability, and (3) appearance. The dimensions and palatability are often modified to improve swallowability by breaking tablets in half or taste masking with food. Polypharmacy can lead to patients using the appearance to identify tablets; however, this can lead to confusion when products appear similar. No study was identified that explored formulation characteristics across all 3 categories directly in the older population. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS Manufacturers should take into account practical problems older people may encounter when considering the dimensions, palatability, and appearance of the final drug product. These characteristics should be optimized to aid visual identification and swallowability. Medical providers and pharmacists have an important role in ensuring that these patient-centric drug products are prescribed and dispensed appropriately so that patients receive the most suitable formulation.

中文翻译：

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口服固体剂型的配方是否会影响老年患者的接受度和依从性？混合方法系统评价

目标与年龄相关的变化意味着老年人口可能会遇到口服药物的障碍。需要进一步的工作来确定口服固体剂型的特征，以提高患者的接受度和依从性。本系统评价的目的是确定口服固体剂型的配方方面是否以及如何影响老年人的接受度和依从性。设计 使用基于数据的收敛综合设计的混合方法系统评价。设置和参与者 如果文章包括 60 岁及以上的参与者，或包括医疗保健专业人员、社会保健专业人员和 60 岁及以上患者的非正式照顾者，则选择这些文章。方法 对以下数据库进行了系统搜索：Web of Science、MEDLINE、Scopus 和 Cochrane 数据库。数据库检索辅以灰色文献检索，人工检索收录论文参考文献列表。结果 最终合成共纳入 16 项研究。主题分析产生了三个主题：（1）尺寸，（2）适口性，和（3）外观。尺寸和适口性经常被修改以通过将药片分成两半或用食物掩盖味道来提高吞咽性。多药可导致患者使用外观来识别药片；然而，当产品看起来相似时，这可能会导致混淆。没有确定直接在老年人群中探索所有 3 个类别的配方特征的研究。结论和启示 制造商在考虑尺寸时应考虑老年人可能遇到的实际问题，最终药物产品的适口性和外观。应优化这些特征以帮助视觉识别和吞咽性。医疗提供者和药剂师在确保这些以患者为中心的药物产品得到适当的处方和分配方面发挥着重要作用，以便患者获得最合适的配方。