Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT3485

Growth hormone therapy (GHT) may be administered to children with growth-related disorders to enable them to reach their expected target height. This study was designed to assess the features of a digital application (app) that would support patients at different stages of GHT. Insights from patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals (HCPs) were gathered to inform the development of MySoConnect® for Sogroya® (Novo Nordisk Health Care AG). German-speaking Swiss patients/caregivers (n = 21) and HCPs (n = 5) were invited to participate. Patients were current users of the Norditropin® (somatropin) FlexPro® pen (Novo Nordisk Health Care AG). Each participant undertook three 60-minute online interviews, conducted at study start, after 1 month of app use and after new app features were developed. The overall experience and features of the app were discussed. Perceptions and needs related to GHT were also gathered at the first interview. All interviews were conducted between June and November 2022. Average patient age was 12 years. Based on response patterns, GHT journey stages were defined as “pre-therapy”, “initiation of therapy”, “injection by parents”, “transition to self-injection”, “self-injection” and “end of therapy”. Perceptions and needs identified as relevant to all stages of GHT were reminders for injection, progress tracking of height and training/support related to treatment. Perceived benefit of the app by patients/caregivers was dependent on their GHT journey stage. Patients at “initiation of therapy” considered an app to be highly beneficial. For patients at “injection by parents”, “transition to self-injection” and “self-injection”, an app was considered beneficial. When asked about specific app features, most participants considered the ability to set reminders for injection and track height gain over time to be beneficial. Most participants indicated that having access to supporting information, such as instructional manuals, training videos and frequently asked questions, would be beneficial. In particular, patients at “initiation of therapy” and “transition to self-injection” stages deemed these supporting information features as very beneficial. The lack of connectivity between the pen and the app was considered critical by the participants. HCPs were strongly in favour of adding an automated dose-logging feature, which corresponds to a connectivity element between the injection pen and the app, to encourage app use. Insights gathered from patients, caregivers and HCPs indicate that the use of an app for GHT may support adherence to treatment, with features such as tracking height gain over time, setting reminders and accessing instructional manuals and other relevant supporting information considered beneficial.