User Needs of Patients and Healthcare Professionals When Opening Aluminum Pillow Packaging for Prescription Drugs

This study conducted a comprehensive survey on aluminum pillow packaging, which is commonly used for prescription medications, targeting both patients and healthcare professionals. Dissatisfaction with opening, ease of use, awareness and use of notches, and packaging reuse were evaluated. The packaging was classified into three categories: Type A (horizontal laser notch), Type B (center-seal notch), and Type C (no notch). Responses were collected from 102 patients and 32 healthcare professionals. A significant difference was observed in dissatisfaction with package opening: 87.5％ of healthcare professionals versus only 8.8％ of patients (P < 0.05). Among healthcare professionals, 96.9％ and 55.9％ opened the packaging by hand and scissors, respectively. Those who desired more user-friendly packaging included 87.5％ of healthcare professionals and 73.5％ of patients. Healthcare professionals prioritized “ease of tearing” (87.5％), while patients most frequently responded with “no particular preference” (49.0％), followed by “easy to open while retaining shape for storage” (32.4％) and “ease of tearing” (15.7％). Type A packaging was rated as the most user-friendly. After experiencing different packaging types, 46.9％ of healthcare professionals and 86.1％ of patients who used Type B selected Type A as the easiest to use. Awareness of notches in Type B packaging was 71.9％ among healthcare professionals but only 13.9％ among patients (P < 0.05). These findings reveal that healthcare professionals prioritize ease of opening and efficiency, whereas patients value storage and familiarity and are less dissatisfied overall. These differing needs highlight the importance of developing packaging that addresses diverse user requirements.