Administration Burden Associated With Recombinant Human Growth Hormone Treatment: Perspectives of Patients and Caregivers1
Section snippets
Study Design
A single-assessment, cross-sectional, Internet-based survey study conducted in August 2010 explored GH-treated patient and caregiver practices, experiences, and perceptions toward rhGH treatment. Two surveys were developed: a version for patients 13 years and older with a GH disorder and another version for caregivers of a patient with a GH disorder. After receiving approval from the Western Institutional Review Board (Olympia, WA), surveys were administered via Internet by Harris Interactive
Sample Size and Characteristics
E-mail invitations were sent to 2,007 members who potentially met the criteria for this study based on their disorder and with an e-mail address on MAGIC's mailing list database. Although 588 potential respondents entered the survey, 212 did not meet inclusion criteria, and another 46 did not complete the survey. Ultimately, our target sample size of 300 respondents was met, and 61 patients and 239 caregivers successfully completed their respective survey.
Patient and caregiver demographic and
Discussion
In this survey, refrigeration of rhGH products, especially while traveling, was perceived as considerably burdensome by both patients and caregivers. To a lesser extent, reconstitution also imposed a burden. In fact, most patients and caregivers agreed with the statement, “I wish I could store rhGH outside the refrigerator for longer periods of time,” and more than half of caregivers and almost half of patients agreed with the statement, “I wish I did not have to mix my child's GH medication
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by Novo Nordisk Inc. The authors wish to thank Chioma Smith, MPH, HEOR Researcher at Novo Nordisk Inc., for her thoughtful comments throughout the editorial process. We also like to thank Julie Powers, MHS, Consultant at IMS Consulting Group, for her invaluable assistance in developing this article.
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2019, Journal of Pediatric NursingCitation Excerpt :Parents preferred more flexibility with storage requirements and wished to be able to store GHT outside the fridge for longer periods of time. In addition to storage requirements, reconstitution of GHT before use was found to be inconvenient and burdensome (Kremidas et al., 2013). Kremidas et al. (2013) suggested that a better appreciation of parent administration practices of GH and inconvenience accompanying the use of GHT products will help educate health care professionals and potentially improve patient education and training.
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Identification of previous presentation: Details of the study and some of the study results presented in this article were presented at the 2011 Pediatric Endocrinology Nursing Society Convention.