London: Improved packaging could significantly increase the usage of key medicines such as ORS in developing countries like India, which can help lower infant mortality rates, according to a new study.


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The study by the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Inc (CHAI) and the University of Warwick found that improved packaging increases the willingness of caregivers to provide ORS to children.


Infant dehydration due to diarrhoea results in 600,000 deaths annually in the developing world due to inappropriate or no treatment. Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) combat this dehydration.


The researchers worked with over 600 caregivers in India, Nigeria and Uganda to assess their responses to existing and potential new ORS packaging designs.


The study found that simple changes to packaging led to significant increases in the willingness of caregivers to provide ORS to their children.


Caregivers indicated that current packaging designs had inappropriately large sachets, lacked clear usage detail and were visually unappealing.


While there were some national differences, caregivers in all three countries shared key preferences, researchers said.


As a result, ORS manufacturers are introducing three new packaging designs which will feature smaller sachet size to reduce wastage plus brighter and more informative pictures to more accurately reflect the product's effectiveness.


Additionally, flavour will be added to make the ORS more acceptable to infants.


Study co-author Peter M Ward, a researcher from the Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick said that improving ORS packaging is one further step towards addressing health issues in the developing world.


"Every additional sachet of ORS sold because of improved aesthetic appeal has the potential to save the life of a child with diarrhoea. Making simple changes to the packaging of an existing product is an easily implementable strategy that could begin immediately," Ward said.


"The majority of ORS sachets on the market are packaged to make a litre of solution," said study co-author Kate Kynvin, Supply and Distribution Manager (Essential Medicines) at the Clinton Health Access Initiative.


"A primary concern of the rural caregivers interviewed was the inconvenience and wastage created through sourcing a litre of clean water to make a solution that needed to be consumed within a 24-hour time period.


"Reducing the sachet size to make a smaller volume will reduce this potential for waste, reduce the cost per sachet and increase product appeal," Kynvin said.