Mcg. Manley et al., A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR HELPS THE MEDICINE GO DOWN - PERSPECTIVES ON THE USE OF SUGAR IN CHILDRENS MEDICINES, Social science & medicine, 39(6), 1994, pp. 833-840
This analysis examines the policy issues involved in the removal of su
gar from paediatric medicines. It reports a study which investigates t
he perspectives of professionals, consumers, and the pharmaceutical in
dustry. Interviews were conducted with: parents of children receiving
long term medication, dental professionals involved in influencing pol
icy or caring for such children, and drug companies who produce medica
tion for long term use by children. Results showed that the parent gro
up preferred the tablet over the liquid form of medication; this was a
lso considered acceptable by the key dental professionals interviewed.
The removal of sugar from liquid medicine (rather than the alternativ
e use of smaller tablets) was not therefore a policy generally preferr
ed by the groups involved in the issue. It was concluded that the sing
ular concern of the dentist, doctors and pharmacists to remove sugar f
rom liquid paediatric medicines was a reflection of their altruistic i
ntentions. The limited biomedical perspective of clinically trained oc
cupations prevented them from exploring the wider issues of the variou
s needs of consumers. Thus, the analysis highlights the problems which
have been introduced by professional dominance in the issue of medica
tion caries.