Myeloma Treatment Compliance 2009: Results of An International Comparative Survey Conducted by Myeloma Euronet (ME), the European Network of Myeloma Patient Groups.

Abstract 4907

Patients who follow all the instructions about a course of treatment as directed by their doctor or nurse can be described as ‘compliant’ with a treatment plan. It is well-understood that failure of patients to follow treatment plans or understand the requirements after leaving their care could result in poor treatment outcomes, compounding health problems and additional health care costs. An international comparative survey of myeloma patients and patient relatives and healthcare professionals is conducted to assess perceptions of how myeloma treatment plans are determined, the familiarity of myeloma patients with their treatment plan, the satisfaction concerning the level of treatment compliance-related information, the factors that might have a negative effect on treatment compliance, the effect of one exemplary treatment side effect (peripheral neuropathy) on treatment compliance, and overall myeloma treatment compliance. The goal of the survey is to help patient and medical communities recognise the importance of patient compliance and the issues and challenges patients face in complying with their treatment. Learnings from the survey will be used to help improve myeloma patient compliance. The comparative survey is conducted based on 2 comparable two-page questionnaires, 1 for healthcare professionals and 1 for myeloma patients and patient relatives. The survey consists of 9 multiple-choice and ranking format questions. The questionnaires were developed by ME. They were pre-tested with both professional and patient communities and are available in 6 languages: DE, EN, ES, FR, IT, TR. The survey is distributed by mail or e-mail, it can be taken online through accessing the organisation's web site, and it is conducted on paper at haematological and oncological congresses and patient information days. To date, a total of 129 healthcare professionals from 42 countries and 191 myeloma patients and patient relatives from 11 countries have responded to the survey. Data gathering will continue until mid OCT 2009 and the final survey results will be presented at ASH 2009. The survey was made possible through an unrestricted grant from Celgene International.