ASH 2024 HealthTree’s Oral Presentation on How Side Effects Influence Myeloma Patients’ Decisions

HealthTree is set to present its groundbreaking research at the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) with an oral presentation! This is a great honor and we want to share all the research details with you! 

Living with relapsed multiple myeloma can be overwhelming, especially when choosing among complex treatment options that balance effectiveness with potential side effects. This research delves into how the severity of the side effects can influence decision-making autonomy and communication patterns in people diagnosed with relapsed multiple myeloma.

The Importance of Understanding Patient Preferences

Understanding patient preferences is crucial for managing any disease, especially for those who experience difficulties finding an effective therapy. Shared decision-making empowers patients to collaborate with healthcare providers in selecting treatments that align with their health and quality of life goals.

How the Severity of Side Effects Influence Decision-Making for Patients

For this study, a total of 784 patients diagnosed with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma participated in the survey for this study at HealthTree Cure Hub. For those unfamiliar, HealthTree Cure Hub is a platform in which patients can connect their medical records to keep track of their health and participate in self-advocacy, such as tracking labs and personalized treatment options, and they can also participate in surveys and studies, such as the one presented today in this article. Patient participation from our HealthTree community brought about the results shared below.

Among them, 333 experienced a relapse and responded to questions about how side effect severity affected their treatment choices.

Key findings include:

• Enhanced Understanding: Patients who considered side effects very or extremely influential had a better understanding (29%) of the possible side effects of the treatment options than those who thought side effects were less important (15%).

• Proactive Engagement: Patients aware of side effects were more likely to engage in discussions with fellow patients and family members, and they reported greater involvement in their doctor-patient communication approach.

• Increased Autonomy: Participants who considered side effects very influential also reported more self-determination in the treatment decision-making process, with a higher percentage (66%) making the final decision themselves rather than having their doctor decide.

These results show how understanding a treatment’s side effects can highly influence personalized patient education and shared decision-making, especially for patients. People who actively participate in self-advocacy are also more aware of the treatment’s side effects and act in the decision-making process. This study highlights that there is an ongoing need for patient-centered care and education to optimize treatment choices.

Conclusion

This real-world study, facilitated by a secure platform such as HealthTree, provides valuable insights for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals. It emphasizes the importance of understanding patient priorities to improve communication and collaboration in their care. 

If you also want to contribute to patient-focused research and real-world data that provides insight into patient preferences, create a free HealthTree account where you can access different surveys, keep track of your disease, and use all of our amazing free resources! 

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Source: 

• 706 Patient-Centered Care in Hematology: How Side Effect Severity Influences Decision-Making Autonomy in Relapsed Refractory Multiple Myeloma

Stay tuned to our ASH coverage! Visit our HealthTree Conference Coverage to read more.