Treatment of ulcerative colitis from the patient's perspective: a survey of preferences and satisfaction with therapy.
BACKGROUND
Data available regarding patient perspectives on ulcerative colitis (UC) and their preferences and satisfaction with therapy are limited.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the preferences of UC patients to understand better what they look for in a therapy when managing their disease, as this may influence overall medication adherence.


METHODS
The study surveyed 100 Canadian UC patients on topics including educational resources used to learn about the disease, medication attributes that are most valued and preferred by the patient and satisfaction with current therapy.


RESULTS
Overall, efficacy- and safety-related medication attributes were rated by patients to be more important than those related to dosing regimen (e.g. dosing frequency, number of pills), cost and formulary coverage. In pair-wise comparisons of specific medication attributes, UC patients rated speed of symptom relief and few side effects as the most important factors when considering a UC medication (preferred on average 84% and 74% of the time respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides insight into UC patient preferences and satisfaction with therapy that may be important when counselling on treatment options, and generates relevant discussions on adherence. Larger studies may be warranted to examine further how these findings can be extrapolated to broader UC populations.
Gray
J R
JR
Division of Gastroenterology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. allgray@telus.net
Leung
E
E
Scales
J
J
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D055815:Young Adult
D005765:Gastrointestinal Agents