A Qualitative Study to Assess US Patient Preferences between new Transdermal System and Injectable Anabolic Therapies for Osteoporosis Treatment

Abstract

Mini abstract US patients with osteoporosis included in three focus groups identified efficacy, safety, cost, and convenience as important attributes of treatment when choosing between anabolic therapies with high stated preference for the solid Microstructured Transdermal System. Objective The current study evaluated patient perspective and relative importance of treatment attributes of in-home daily self-administration of abaloparatide-solid Microstructured Transdermal System (sMTS) compared with other anabolic agents (i.e. in-home daily subcutaneous self-injections, and monthly subcutaneous injections at doctor office) among a group of US patients with osteoporosis. Methods The current study included systematic literature reviews, experts’ consultation and three online patients focus groups (n=27), including patients ≥50 years of age at high risk for fracture. Nominal Group Technique was used by asking patients to (1) Individually identify characteristics that would be important for them when choosing between anabolic treatments, (2) Share ideas and discuss perspectives with other patients, (3) Review additional attributes generated from a systematic literature review, (4) Select and rank individually the 7 most important characteristics from the list and (5) Report their acceptability and stated preference ranking between the three treatment options. Results Twenty women and 7 men with a mean age of 65 (range 51-85 years) participated in the focus groups. Twenty-four treatment characteristics were identified through focus groups and literature review. Efficacy, safety, out-of-pocket costs, strength of evidence and the option to self-administer were ranked as the most important attributes. The majority of patients stated preference for a daily sMTS if prescribed by their doctor. Conclusions This study revealed that efficacy, safety, costs, and convenience are important attributes of osteoporosis treatment for US patients at high risk for fractures when choosing between anabolic therapies, with a high stated preference for sMTS.

The use of virtual nominal groups in healthcare research: An extended scoping review

“…Demographic information can be found in Table 2 . The largest number of studies were published in 2022 (50%; 16/32) [ 6 , 28 – 42 ], followed by 2021 [ 43 – 54 ] and 2020 (13%; 4/32) [ 19 , 55 – 57 ]. As seen in Table 2 geographic distribution, virtual studies were predominantly carried out at the national level (53%; 17/32), followed by intercontinental (19%; 6/32), international (16%; 5/32), and local settings (6%; 2/32).…”

“…Within healthcare, topics were varied and included items such as improving care for inmate dementia [ 30 ], home rehabilitation for stroke survivors [ 49 ], COVID-19 vaccine rollout in pharmacies [ 51 ] barriers to testing lipids and achieving disease control in rheumatoid arthritis [ 56 , 57 ]. Patients were often central to the vNGT with topics including patient views on the treatment of osteoporosis [ 28 ], multiple myeloma [ 50 ] or osteoarthritis [ 43 ] and patient reported outcomes in heart failure [ 33 ].…”

“…This advantage may have been amplified for healthcare professionals seeking to actively participate in research in the midst of battling the COVID-19 pandemic and has been previously reported [ 58 ]. However, lack of access or ability to use digital platforms may have reduced accessibility for some participants, due to socioeconomic disadvantage [ 28 ] or advanced age [ 50 , 57 ]. Previous literature has certainly described age, race and literacy-related disparities in the use of technology with online populations being younger and more affluent [ 61 , 62 ].…”

“…Several other limitations were noted such as timing of sessions if participants are from different time zones [ 51 ], and technical difficulties [ 28 ]. Testing the technology prior to use and having designated staff to address technical issues has been recommended [ 20 ], but is not always sufficient [ 28 ].…”

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“…Beaudart, 2022 [28] • afforded geographical flexibility • webcam allowed for nonverbal communication • no associated travel cost or facility rental fees • safer than face-to-face meetings during waves of the pandemic…”