Observed High Adherence to Recombinant Kate MORGAN a,1 , Paula VAN DOMMELEN b , Ana-Rita BATISTA a , Ekaterina KOLEDOVA a Merck Serono Ltd., Feltham, UK, an affiliate of Merck KGaA b The Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research TNO, Leiden, The Netherlands c Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany Abstract. We explored whether a multi-component approach – using a digital health device, the easypod™ auto-injector, the ‘MySupport’ patient support programme (PSP) and a Patient Activation Measure ® (PAM ® ) – could improve adherence in patients receiving recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH). A 13-item PAM was used to assess caregiver self-reported knowledge, resulting in two PAM scores for 88 patients at four UK hospitals after an average of 5.6 months. Most patients improved their PAM score by ≥1 level (43%) or maintained it (>-1 and <1; 21%). In parallel, 74% of patients maintained (-5 to +5%) or improved (≥5%) their adherence. Further studies are required to evaluate a multi-component approach to adherence in a larger population and for a longer duration. Keywords. Auto-injector, growth hormone, patient activation measure, patient support programme 1. Introduction To initiate catch-up growth and improve adult height, a long-term commitment from patients and caregivers to regular injections of recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH; somatropin; Saizen ® , Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany) is required. However, poor adherence to r-hGH therapy is common and leads to reduced efficacy and a multi-component, individualized approach is generally required to increase motivation to improve adherence.[1] Here, we briefly explore some of these components and describe how additional incorporation of a Patient Activation Measure ® (PAM ® ) may facilitate caregiver engagement and, in turn, patient adherence. 1 Corresponding Author, Kate Morgan, Patient Support UK & IRE, Merck Serono Ltd., Feltham, UK, an affiliate of Merck KGaA; E-mail: Kate.Morgan@merckgroup.com. Human Growth Hormone Treatment Using a Multi-Component Approach to Improve Adherence in Individuals with Growth Disorders c Challenges of Trustable AI and Added-Value on Health B. Séroussi et al. (Eds.) © 2022 European Federation for Medical Informatics (EFMI) and IOS Press. This article is published online with Open Access by IOS Press and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0). doi:10.3233/SHTI220595 817