Understanding Preferences, Needs, and Expectations for Pharmaceutical Treatment of Symptomatic Uterine Fibroids Based on Surveys of Healthcare Providers and Patients

O Sandra Madueke-Laveaux,1 Elke GI Hunsche,2 Viatcheslav G Rakov,2 Cassandra Lickert,3 Brett Hauber,4 Ramamirtham Sukumar,5 Sanjay K Agarwal6 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; 2Sumitomo Pharma Switzerland GmbH, Basel, Switzerland; 3Sumitomo Pharma America, Marlborough, MA, USA; 4Pfizer Inc., New York, NY, USA; 5Optimal Strategix Group, Bensalem, PA, USA; 6Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Diego, CA, USACorrespondence: Elke GI Hunsche, Sumitomo Pharma Switzerland GmbH, Basel, Switzerland, Tel +41 43 210 8129, Email [email protected]: Limited evidence is available regarding preferences of women with uterine fibroids (UF) and treating healthcare providers (HCPs) regarding treatment attributes; this evidence could contribute to patient-centered shared decision-making. The aim of this study was to understand HCP and patient preferences when evaluating pharmaceutical treatments for symptomatic UF, and to identify HCP and patient segments that differ in their preferences.Methods: HCPs involved in UF management and patients diagnosed with UF completed a survey assessing the importance of treatment attributes in the UF therapy choice; an adaptive self-explication method was applied to estimate relative importance (RI), indexed to an average of 100. Attributes with RI > 100 or < 100 indicated a larger or lesser influence, respectively, in driving treatment choice. A clustering (K-means) algorithm was used to determine HCP and patient segments. Attribute RI was estimated for the overall sample and segments. Segment-specific RI estimates that were > 10 points higher or lower than the overall study population mean were considered key differentiating drivers for that segment.Results: In total, 375 HCPs and 300 patients responded to the survey. Four HCP and four patient segments were identified. Healthcare provider segments identified were: “efficacy-focused” (n=99), “safety-focused” (n=97), “convenience-focused” (n=93), and “economics-focused” (n=86). Patient segments identified were: “symptom-relief-driven” (n=127), “information-driven” (n=67), “cost-sensitive and surgery-averse” (n=58), and “risk-averse” (n=48).Conclusion: HCPs and patients consider a variety of factors when assessing uterine fibroid treatments. For HCPs, segmentation may elucidate motivations behind treatment choices, while segmentation of patients into distinct groups, each with specific needs, goals, and behaviors, allows for more tailored care. Understanding treatment decision drivers can support patient-centered shared decision-making by enabling HCPs to recognize patient segments and engage with patients accordingly. Shared decision-making may help optimize UF management by focusing discussions on patients’ priorities, increasing patient engagement, and improving health equity.Keywords: uterine fibroids, shared decision making, patient choice, patient reported outcomes