Patient-reported treatment satisfaction in essential tremor: levels of satisfaction and predictors of satisfaction.

Background

Although managing symptoms is paramount for both essential tremor (ET) patients and their healthcare providers, studies of treatment satisfaction are surprisingly lacking.

Objectives

We evaluated the satisfaction of patients who used a range of treatments and assessed the relation of a wide array of factors to satisfaction.

Methods

One hundred four ET participants (age = 74.5 ± 10.2 years) completed a battery of self-report items. These included demographic information, measures of tremor and clinical history, psychological state, current ET treatment, and a series of questions about satisfaction with treatment.

Results

Analyses of responses to the four current treatment satisfaction questions revealed that the proportion of participants who were satisfied ranged from 35.0% to 57.3% (i.e., approximately 1/3 to 1/2); conversely, the proportion who were dissatisfied ranged from 9.2% to 37.0%. The remainder were neutral. Higher satisfaction levels were observed in participants who were included in treatment selection and who had undergone deep brain stimulation surgery,

Conclusion

Between 1/3 and 1/2 of patients were satisfied with their treatment, whereas up to 1/3 were dissatisfied. In this initial exploration of correlates of treatment satisfaction in ET patients, we identified a number of associations between satisfaction and clinical, psychological and treatment variables. Additional research is warranted to further explore the nature of these relations over time.

Informations de copyright

© The Author(s), 2024.