{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,30]],"date-time":"2025-07-30T16:30:26Z","timestamp":1753893026833,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,10]],"date-time":"2025-06-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1749513600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000060","name":"National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000060","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Nasopharyngeal (NPS) and oropharyngeal (OPS) swab collection are vital in the diagnosis and surveillance of respiratory viruses. However, the acceptability of these procedures among children remains a challenge.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>We conducted a descriptive study using data from two pediatric observational studies in Cebu, Philippines (July 2021\u2013October 2022). One was a community-based study, involving febrile adolescents aged 13\u201319\u202fyears, and the other was a hospital-based study, involving febrile children aged 1\u202fmonth to &amp;lt;5\u202fyears. Both studies aimed to collect NPS\/OPS samples for respiratory pathogen testing, including SARS-CoV-2, influenza A\/B, and respiratory syncytial virus. We described reasons for refusal of NPS\/OPS collection obtained from parents or guardians who were approached for participation in these studies.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Among 180 children enrolled from study sites in Bogo and Balamban Cebu, 134 (74.4%) were from the community-based study and 46 (25.6%) from the hospital-based study. Twenty-nine (29\/180; 16.1%) agreed to undergo NPS\/OPS collection\u2014all of whom were from the community-based study. None of the hospital-based participants agreed to undergo NPS\/OPS collection as part of their participation in the study. Among the 151\/180 (83.90%) participants who refused the research swab collection, 41 (27.2%) declined due to a prior swab, 31 (20.5%) cited fear or discomfort, and 28 (18.5%) felt it was unnecessary at the time.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>NPS\/OPS collection was less acceptable in both community and hospital settings, unless mandated by local authorities based on the experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior swabbing, procedural discomfort, and perceived lack of necessity were key barriers, especially among younger children and their caregivers.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1566688","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,10]],"date-time":"2025-06-10T05:23:29Z","timestamp":1749533009000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A descriptive study on feasibility of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab collection from pediatric research participants in Cebu, Philippines"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Clarissa","family":"De Guzman","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ma. Gladys Nicole","family":"Daque","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"March Helena Jane","family":"Lopez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anna Maureen","family":"Cuachin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Maria Vinna","family":"Crisostomo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Michelle","family":"Ylade","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jacqueline","family":"Deen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"758","DOI":"10.1016\/S1473-3099(20)30322-4","article-title":"The 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