Validation of the Self-Reported Psoriasis Treatment Convenience Scale (PTCS).

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Patient-Reported Outcomes
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Psoriasis patients exhibit poor adherence to topical treatments.
• Inconvenient formulations (greasy, time-consuming, slow absorption) contribute to non-adherence.
• A need exists for validated measures of treatment convenience in psoriasis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a patient-reported outcome measure for topical psoriasis treatment convenience.
• To assess the psychometric properties of the Psoriasis Treatment Convenience Scale (PTCS).

Main Methods:

• Literature review to identify key convenience factors.
• Content validity testing with psoriasis patients (n=20).
• Psychometric evaluation within a clinical trial of topical therapy (n=794).

Main Results:

• The final Psoriasis Treatment Convenience Scale (PTCS) comprises five core items and an overall satisfaction question.
• The PTCS demonstrated good validity, reliability, and sensitivity in psychometric testing.
• The scale showed stability across the clinical trial population.

Conclusions:

• The Psoriasis Treatment Convenience Scale (PTCS) is a validated, reliable, and sensitive tool.
• PTCS facilitates the assessment of treatment convenience in clinical development of topical psoriasis therapies.
• Improved assessment of convenience may enhance patient adherence and treatment outcomes.