Patient Perception of Medical Care for Psoriatic Arthritis in North America and Europe: Results from a Global Patient Survey.
Richette P., Coates LC., Azevedo VF., Cappelleri JC., Moser J., Queiro-Silva R., Fallon L., Kessouri M.
INTRODUCTION: To compare perceptions of disease control and treatment satisfaction between patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in North America and Europe, and between participating countries within each region. METHODS: Data were collected from patients with self-reported PsA diagnoses using an online survey. Results from questions on perceptions of overall health, disease severity, PsA symptoms, PsA impacts, and treatment satisfaction/preferences were reported using descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests. RESULTS: A total of 456 patients from North America (Canada, n = 155; US, n = 301) and 417 patients from Europe (France, n = 123; Spain, n = 135; UK, n = 159) were included in this analysis. Patients in North America were more likely to rate their overall health as excellent/good compared with those in Europe (49 vs. 14%), but also rate their disease as severe (27 vs. 15%). Despite treatment, patients in North America and Europe still experienced musculoskeletal (92 vs. 91%) and skin/nail (62 vs. 58%) symptoms. Similar proportions of patients in North America vs. Europe experienced a social impact (81 vs. 85%); more patients in Europe vs. North America experienced PsA-related work impacts (83 vs. 74%). Satisfaction with PsA medication was more common in North America (89%) vs. Europe (79%), and more common in Spain (91%) vs. the UK (82%) or France (66%). Across all regions and countries, ≥ 75% of patients agreed that symptoms were controlled. However, ≥ 66% wished they had more medication choices, and ≥ 84% wanted to change something about their medication. CONCLUSIONS: Although perception of overall health and disease severity varied, many patients from both regions still experienced symptoms despite receiving medications for PsA, wished they had greater choice of medications, and/or would like to change an aspect of their medications. While these survey findings are subject to selection bias, they do indicate there is scope to improve the treatment of PsA.