New survey finds rheumatoid arthritis patients value personalised goal setting for successful disease management

LONDON & BRUSSELS, 26 May, 07:00 (CET) – UCB today announced data that showed patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) believe that personalised goal setting can have a positive impact on their disease management. However, while the majority of patients surveyed (87%) agreed with this, almost as many (73%) stated that their healthcare professional (HCP) did not discuss approaches that achieved personal targets.¹ The results from the ‘Getting to Your Destination Faster’ Survey were presented during the Annual Meeting of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) in London, May 25-28.¹

“As the range of therapeutic options for management of RA expands, the expectations of RA patients will increase correspondingly. The insights gained from this study should provide invaluable insights that will guide patients with RA and their healthcare providers towards continual improvement in management strategies with the goal of optimizing quality of life,” said lead investigator Professor Peter C. Taylor, Head of Clinical Trials and Campus Dean, Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, London, UK.

The survey showed that while many patients felt that a personalised targeted approach was not discussed, the majority of patients (62%) agreed that decisions about how to treat their RA were generally shared between the HCP and themselves. The results indicate that patients would like further help from HCPs to determine and set goals to assess for themselves whether treatment is working.¹ These findings reflect the recent EULAR recommendations for the management of RA², which state that treatment of patients with RA must be based on a shared decision between the patient and the rheumatologist, and that treatment targets should be established early and reached within 3-6 months if possible.²

A previous survey (the ‘Good Days’ Survey) examined the impact of RA on daily life and showed that the disease has a negative impact on employment, productivity, emotions and intimate relationships, and causes patients to feel isolated.³ This follow up survey was conducted to examine patients’ expectations of treatment and outcomes in RA care, particularly their awareness of targeted treatment goals and their treatment goal setting practices.

Patient Treatment Perceptions

Respondents were asked the length of time they expected to feel an improvement when given a medicine. The majority of respondents (75%), when given a medicine for their RA signs and symptoms, expected to feel an improvement within 3 months, with 20% citing 3-6 months and only 5% expecting to wait over 6 months to feel an improvement. Regarding how long respondents would wait to speak to their HCP if they felt a new treatment was not working, the majority of respondents (56%) said that they would wait 1 month or less. Additionally, over half (54%) respondents said finding the right treatment option was the biggest obstacle in controlling their RA symptoms.¹

Personal, Social and Treatment Goal Setting

The survey explored respondents’ awareness of goal setting practices. Results showed when starting a new treatment, 81% of respondents set personal or social goals, and 91% set treatment goals. Importantly, 80% felt setting personal and social goals would be of benefit to assess whether a treatment was working. The majority of respondents (64%) agreed that a targeted approach to successful management was setting personal, lifestyle and treatment goals, and monitoring progress to achieve them.¹ The majority of respondents (84%) believed that a treatment works if it helps them achieve their personal/social goals fast.¹

“The message we are getting from patients in this survey is that personalised goals help them to quantify treatment success, and generally patients want to know this information quickly,” said Scott Fleming, Global Communications Manager, Immunology from UCB. “Insights from this study reinforce existing evidence around the importance of goal setting in RA treatment, and the need for fast-acting treatments.”

For further Information:
Scott Fleming, Global Communications Manager – Immunology
T +44 770.277.7378, scott.fleming@ucb.com

About the ‘Getting to Your Destination Faster’ Survey
The ‘Getting to Your Destination Faster’ Survey was conducted in August 2010 and recruited a total of 1,829 people with rheumatoid arthritis (1,242 females and 587 males) from 6 countries (USA [n=303], UK [n=306], Germany [n=304], Spain [n=304], France [n=306] and Italy [n=306]). The majority of female participants (72.2%) were aged 25-34 years, whereas the majority of male participants (36.0%) were aged 55-65 years. When asked to describe the severity of their RA, 53.9%, 32.8% and 13.3% of people responded with ‘moderate’, ‘mild’ and ‘severe’. Eligible people were aged 25-65 years and were required to indicate that they had a diagnosis of RA ≥6 months. Respondents were queried on their perceptions of disease management, treatment expectations, as well as personal and health care provider (HCP) goal setting (personal/social/treatment) for RA. Mean responses to each question were computed for the overall population of respondents.

About Rheumatoid Arthritis
RA affects more than 2.9 million Europeans, and it is estimated that 5 million people suffer from RA globally. Prevalence is not split evenly between genders, since women are three times more likely to be affected than men. Although RA can affect people of all ages, the onset of the disease usually occurs between 35-55 years of age.

About UCB
UCB, Brussels, Belgium (www.ucb.com) is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the research, development and commercialization of innovative medicines with a focus on the fields of central nervous system and immunology disorders. Employing more than 9000 people in over 40 countries, UCB produced revenue of EUR 3.22 billion in 2010. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels (symbol: UCB).

Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current plans, estimates and beliefs of management. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those that may be implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Important factors that could result in such differences include: changes in general economic, business and competitive conditions, effects of future judicial decisions, changes in regulation, exchange rate fluctuations and hiring and retention of its employees.

References

1. Taylor P et al. Expectations of treatment goals and goal setting practices in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Poster # FRI0256

2. Smolen J et al. EULAR recommendation for the management of rheumatoid arthritis with synthetic and biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Ann Rheum Dis (2010). 2010 Jun;69(6):964-75. Epub 2010 May 5

3. Strand V, et al. Arthritis Rheum 2010;62(suppl 10):S443.