Aims: To discuss the importance of patients' treatment goals and perceived goal attainment to better address expectations in the treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), including overactive bladder (OAB).
Methods: The development of the Self-Assessment Goal Achievement (SAGA) questionnaire was driven by measurement principles from the field of qualitative and psychometric research adapted to elicit patients' treatment goals. At baseline, SAGA solicits individualized responses of patient's treatment expectations and goals, and at follow-up SAGA uses a goal-attainment scale (GAS) to document goal achievement.
Results: The SAGA questionnaire provides a basis for the patient and physician to discuss realistic treatment expectations and to measure the alignment between patients' expectations and treatment outcomes in terms of improvement in symptoms and impact on function. Therefore, incorporating the SAGA questionnaire into clinical trials may provide an additional dimension of treatment efficacy by incorporating data on treatment satisfaction from the patient's perspective.
Conclusions: The SAGA questionnaire is a useful tool for patient-centered discussions about the treatment and management of LUTS, including OAB, and assisting physicians in tracking progress and managing patient expectations during therapy.
Keywords: lower urinary tract; overactive urinary bladder; questionnaires; signs and symptoms; treatment outcome.
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.