Patient and pharmacist perceptions of constipation as a basis for normalizing the category

Thesis investigates the perception of constipation both as a health condition and as a marketing category from the perspectives of patients and pharmacists. Its aim is to understand the emotional and social barriers surrounding the topic and to propose recommendations for overcoming them. The theoretical section outlines the specificities of the pharmaceutical marketing mix, the psychological aspects of consumer embarrassment, and the process of tabooization associated with defecation. The empirical section draws on qualitative research based on in-depth interviews with patients experiencing constipation and with pharmacists. The analysis indicates that the topic is accompanied by shame and other negative emotions that significantly shape patient behavior as well as pharmacy practice; at the same time, an appropriately designed marketing strategy and a sensitive approach within pharmacies can help normalize this product category. The findings provide concrete recommendations for pharmaceutical companies and for the pharmacy environment with the goal of improving the customer experience and normalizing discourse on constipation. In marketing communications, firms may, for example, address frequently reported feelings of frustration, which—according to recommendations in the scholarly literature—can be conveyed through metaphorical scenarios in which a humorous or animated character is positioned as the “culprit,” rather than the viewer. At the pharmacy level, the existence of a designated privacy zone that is, above all, consistently upheld, is essential.