ESPE Abstracts (2021) 94 P2-257

ESPE2021 ePoster Category 2 Growth hormone and IGFs (31 abstracts)

Investigating the impact of the TuiTek patient support programme, designed to support caregivers of children prescribed recombinant human growth hormone treatment for growth hormone deficiency in Taiwan: A pilot study

Pen-Hua Su 1 , Yen-Fan Lin 2 , Amrit Jheeta 3 , Su-Huei Su 1 , Ekaterina Koledova 4 & Selina Graham 5


1Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung City 402, Taiwan; 2Merck Ltd., Taiwan, Taipei City 114, Taiwan; 3Atlantis Healthcare, London, United Kingdom; 4Global Medical Affairs Cardiometabolic & Endocrinology, Biopharma, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany; 5School of Cancer and Pharmaceutical Sciences, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom


Background: Poor adherence to recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH) treatment presents a significant barrier to achieving optimal growth outcomes. It is important to identify and address the treatment adherence-related needs of children prescribed r-hGH, and develop new approaches to improve adherence. In this study, we aimed to measure the impact of the TuiTek patient support programme, a multi-component personalised service intervention, on caregivers’ knowledge, beliefs and perceptions of GH deficiency (GHD) and adherence to its treatment.

Patients and Methods: The pilot study of the TuiTek patient support programme was conducted among 31 caregivers of children with GHD and receiving r-hGH treatment via the easypod™ auto-injector device in Taiwan. Caregivers within the ‘high risk’ category for belief/perception factors influencing adherence to r-hGH treatment (disease and treatment coherence, emotional burden, self-administration and treatment-related anxiety) were identified via the TuiTek personalisation questionnaire and followed up with bi-weekly telephone calls by a nurse practitioner over a 3-month period. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare changes in questionnaire-based scoring patterns between baseline and follow-up.

Results: Between baseline and follow-up, the percentage of caregivers scoring as ‘high risk’ for emotional burden reduced by 37%; there was also a positive change in confidence of self-administration by 57% and the percentage of caregivers scoring as ‘high risk’ for treatment-related anxiety was reduced by 52%. At follow-up, all caregivers classified as ‘high risk’ within the disease and treatment coherence item at baseline had moved into the ‘low risk’ category. Table 1 presents an overview of these findings. Statistically significant changes in questionnaire scores between baseline and follow-up for disease and treatment understanding, emotional burden, self-administration and treatment-related anxiety (all P < 0.05) were also observed.

Table 1 Overview of caregivers scoring in the ‘high risk’ category between baseline and follow-up (n = 31).
Priority TopicBaselineFollow-upPercentage ChangeAchievement of Positive Change*
n%N%
Disease and Treatment Coherence113500100✓✓✓
Emotional Burden2787175537
Treatment-Related Anxiety2581123952✓✓
Self-Administration2890123957✓✓
*✓✓✓ = 100%; ✓✓ = ~50%; = <50%.

Conclusion: These findings indicate that the TuiTek patient support programme can positively address some of the disease and treatment-related barriers amongst caregivers regarding optimal adherence of their children to r-hGH treatment, which has the potential to positively impact on adherence levels and patient clinical outcomes.

Volume 94

59th Annual ESPE (ESPE 2021 Online)

Online,
22 Sep 2021 - 26 Sep 2021

European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology 

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