Understanding patient preferences for handheld autoinjectors versus wearable large-volume injectors

While interest in the use of wearable large-volume injectors for subcutaneous drug delivery is increasing, it remains unclear whether and under what conditions these emerging dosing options are preferred over more frequent but shorter administration of smaller doses using handheld autoinjectors. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the characteristics of patients diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases, and treatment attributes that determine device preferences.

Based on a cross-sectional online choice experiment, 191 participants expressed their preferences without being physically exposed to the devices or performing injections. Logistic hierarchical regression models were used to assess which patient characteristics, and how changes in treatment attributes, drive device preferences.

Participant quality of life reduced the likelihood of preferring wearable large-volume injectors to handheld autoinjectors. Moreover, reducing injection frequency from biweekly to monthly to quarterly injections, and shortening injection duration from 33 to 8 min, significantly increased the likelihood of patients preferring large-volume injectors to autoinjectors (p < 0.001).

The study revealed patient quality of life as predictor of device preference and identified critical inflection points in injection duration and injection frequency, at which patient preferences shift from handheld autoinjectors to wearable large-volume injectors.