No abstract

The EQ-5D-3L is a psychometrically sound tool to elicit health state preferences among caregivers of children with autism.

No abstract

Autism caregivers had lower health utility than did the general adult US population. There is an immediate need to address health concerns among this growing population.

A subsection of the MSMQ was administered to MS patients currently not on DMT. They were asked questions about MS, using the health beliefs model as well as items regarding their perceptions of barriers to DMT initiation. All items were rated on a 1 to 5 scale, with 1 being "strongly disagree" and 5 being "strongly agree". Patients who answered "agree" or "strongly agree" were combined for chi-square analysis; t-tests were used to compare mean scores. RESULTS: Ninety two MS patients reported being non-DMT users. The mean age was 58.6 years and 78.3% were female. Only 3.3% of non-DMT users agreed or strongly agreed that their MS would improve without treatment. The highest agreed upon perceptions of barriers to DMT use dealt with possible side effects (58.2%) and potential high cost (51.9%). Splitting the non-DMT users into those who never initiated DMT and those who used to take DMT revealed significant differences in the impression that physicians lack advocating DMT use (44.7% vs. 17.1%, respectively, p<0.01) and dislike for using needles (24.3% vs. 46.3%, respectively, p=0.043). CONCLUSIONS: MS patients who are not currently on DMT may not seek or re-seek treatment for various reasons. It appears certain perceptions regarding MS and DMT influence behavior in potential DMT use.