Understanding Patient Preferences and Unmet Needs in Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH): Insights from a Qualitative Online Bulletin Board Study

IntroductionThe aim of this work was to understand how patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) perceive their disease, unmet needs, and expectations regarding future treatment through online bulletin board (OBB) qualitative research.MethodsOBB is an asynchronous online qualitative market research tool that provides an open forum for interactive discussion among participants. Patients with NASH were recruited via physician referral and completed a screener questionnaire to ensure their eligibility and willingness to participate. A trained moderator managed the discussion that allowed open answers and responses to other participants' posts. Patient responses were analyzed using a combination of different qualitative analytical tools.ResultsThe OBB ran for 4days and included 16 patients (n=8, UK; n=8, US) with NASH (fibrosis stages F1-F3) and comorbidities including diabetes/prediabetes (n=9) and obesity (n=12). The key insights were (1) patients with NASH have a poor understanding of the disease, its progression, and managementthey feel a lack of adequate educational support from their physicians; (2) diagnosis of NASH is incidental in most cases, mainly because patients fail to spontaneously associate their signs or symptoms with their liver condition; (3) comorbidities (obesity and diabetes) are more concerning to patients than NASH; and (4) patients perceive that NASH impacts their social life and work performance in more advanced stages.ConclusionsThis OBB provided valuable patient insights into NASH disease perception and management and revealed unmet need areas. In light of no approved therapies, these patient insights can inform early drug development strategies and stakeholder discussions on NASH.FundingNovartis Pharma AG, Basel.