Healthcare Study with Pfizer Published in "Clinical Diabetes and Endocrinology" Journal

We recently partnered with Pfizer to conduct a healthcare market research study that we’re proud to announce was published in the Bio Med Central’s peer-reviewed journal, Clinical Diabetes and Endocrinology.

The study entitled “Perspectives on the impact of painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy in a multicultural population,” was written by Kelton’s Martin Eichholz, and Andrea H. Alexander, Joseph C. Cappelleri, Patrick Hlavacek, Bruce Parsons, Alesia Sadosky and Michael M. Tuchman.

Looking back at this study, Kelton’s Martin Eichholz comments that “Patients with pDPN can experience a significant decrease in quality of life, and it’s therefore commendable that Pfizer decided to invest in this unique study that sheds light specifically on multicultural patients who are often a mere footnote in such studies.  The results highlight the unique challenges African-American and Hispanic pDPN patients face, including lower comfort levels with HCPs, and advocates can now use our insights to push forward important initiatives aimed e.g. at improving patient/HCP communications.”

CLICK HERE to view the study in it’s entirety on Bio Med Central.

Abstract

Background

Since few studies have characterized painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (pDPN) symptoms in multicultural populations, this study set out to specifically understand pDPN’s impact on African-American and Hispanic patients compared to Caucasian patients.

Methods

Kelton fielded a multi-modal phone/Internet survey, in English and Spanish, among adults with pDPN symptoms in the United States between August and October 2015; African-Americans and Hispanics were oversampled to achieve at least 500 subjects for each group. The survey elicited information on pDPN symptoms and interactions with healthcare providers (HCPs).

Results

Our data showed that pain was less likely to be rated moderate or severe by African-Americans (65%) and Hispanics (49%) relative to Caucasians (87%; p < 0.05). African-Americans and Hispanics were less likely than Caucasians to report experiencing specific pDPN sensory symptoms. In addition, significantly fewer African-Americans and Hispanics reported receiving a pDPN diagnosis relative to Caucasians (p < 0.05), and higher proportions of African-Americans and Hispanics reported difficulty communicating with their HCP (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

The findings from our study suggest a need to broaden pDPN educational initiatives to improve patient-HCP dialogue and encourage discussion of pDPN symptoms and their impact in a multicultural setting.

Click here to learn more about Kelton’s Healthcare Market Research  and Survey capabilities.