Investigating the Impact of the TUITEK® Patient Support Programme, Designed to Support Caregivers of Children Prescribed Recombinant Human Growth Hormone Treatment in Taiwan

Pen-Hua Su; Sumaira Malik; Amrit Jheeta; Yen-Fan Lin; Su-Huei Su; Ekaterina Koledova; Selina Graham

doi:10.3389/fendo.2022.897956

Investigating the Impact of the TUITEK^® Patient Support Programme, Designed to Support Caregivers of Children Prescribed Recombinant Human Growth Hormone Treatment in Taiwan

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022 May 6:13:897956. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.897956. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Pen-Hua Su^{1

2}, Sumaira Malik³, Amrit Jheeta³, Yen-Fan Lin⁴, Su-Huei Su², Ekaterina Koledova⁵, Selina Graham⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine, Chung-Shan Medical University, Taichung City, Taiwan.
² Department of Pediatrics and Genetics, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung City, Taiwan.
³ Atlantis Healthcare, London, United States.
⁴ Medical Affairs Department, Merck Ltd., Taiwan, An Affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, Taipei City, Taiwan.
⁵ Empowered Health, Global Medical Affairs Cardiometabolic and Endocrinology, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
⁶ Empowered Health, London, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Purpose: 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 treatment, and develop new approaches to improve adherence. We aimed to measure the impact of the TUITEK^® patient support programme, a multi-component personalized service intervention, on caregivers' knowledge, beliefs, and perceptions of short stature and adherence to its treatment.

Patients and methods: The evaluation of the TUITEK^® patient support programme was conducted among 31 caregivers of children with short stature and receiving r-hGH treatment via the easypod™ auto-injector device in Taiwan. Caregivers within the 'high risk' category for knowledge, beliefs and 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^® personalization 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 an improvement in confidence of self-administration by 57% and the percentage of caregivers scoring as 'high risk' for treatment-related anxiety reduced by 52%. At follow-up, all caregivers classified as 'high risk' within the disease and treatment coherence item at baseline moved into the 'low risk' category. Statistically significant changes in questionnaire scores between baseline and follow-up for disease and treatment understanding, emotional burden, self-administration, and treatment-related anxiety were also observed.

Conclusion: These findings indicate that the TUITEK^® patient support programme can positively address 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 health outcomes.

Keywords: adherence; caregiver; intervention; recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH) treatment; short stature.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Caregivers
Child
Growth Disorders / drug therapy
Human Growth Hormone* / therapeutic use
Humans
Recombinant Proteins / therapeutic use
Taiwan

Substances

Recombinant Proteins
Human Growth Hormone