Patient evaluation of the German version of the ASAS/EULAR recommendations for the management of ankylosing spondylitis

On the initiative of the ASAS (Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society) and EULAR (European League against Rheumatism), evidence-based recommendations for the management of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) were drawn up, with healthcare professionals as the target group for these recommendations. To facilitate patient participation in the decision-making process with regard to their disease, and to further improve the doctor-patient relationship, the ASAS and EULAR are working on a patient-friendly version of the recommendations. In order to establish to what extent the ASAS/EULAR recommendations, as translated by German experts, can be understood by patients, the recommendations for health care professionals, together with an evaluation form, was distributed to 105 delegates of the German society for ankylosing spondylitis (Deutschen Vereinigung Morbus Bechterew, DVMB). Responders were questioned on text comprehension and their level of agreement (0: not agree at all to 10: fully agree). Space was also provided for additional comments. In total, 59 delegates filled out the questionnaire (rate of return: 56.2%). For recommendation Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7, text comprehension was moderate. On average, the recommendations were positively assessed with 8.38 +/- 1.9. Recommendation No. 4 (non-pharmacological therapy) was given the highest agreement (9.54 +/- 1.02), while recommendation No. 7 (corticosteroids, 6.54 +/- 2.55) received the lowest agreement. The acceptance of the redommendation was high with 87.9% questions answered. For the first time, the German expert translation of recommendations for the management of AS patients was evaluated by patients. The present translation met with broad approval. To minimize text comprehension problems, patients should be involved in compiling a future patient version.