Assessing the Effect of Clinical Trial Evidence and Anecdote on Caregivers' Willingness to Use Corticosteroids: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Treatment of childhood atopic dermatitis (AD) is hindered by nonadherence, but caregiver reassurance may help overcome this hurdle.

Objectives: To assess caregivers' willingness to treat childhood AD with a corticosteroid when presented with clinical trial evidence, anecdote, or both.

Methods: A total of 476 caregivers were recruited through a dermatology clinic and online crowdsourcing platform. Subjects were randomized to receive clinical trial evidence, anecdote, or both, using either the term "medication" or "topical steroid." Additional caregivers were queried about their willingness to treat with the doctor's recommendation or without knowledge of its safety information. Responses were recorded on a 10-point Likert scale.

Results: Caregivers' willingness to treat was higher in all information assignment groups compared to those not provided with safety information: clinical trial evidence of a "medication" ( = .003; Cohen's 0.83) or "topical steroid" ( = .030; = 0.55), anecdote of a "medication" ( < .0001; = 1.37) or "topical steroid" ( < .0001; = 0.85), both clinical trial evidence and anecdote of a "medication" ( < .0001; = 1.00) or "topical steroid" ( = .000; = 0.89), and simply the doctor's recommendation ( < .0001; = 0.92). Significance was corrected for multiple comparisons to 0.0018. There were no differences between caregivers of children with and without AD ( = .36).

Conclusions: Providing anecdotal reassurance, even in the setting of reported high willingness to treat with the doctor's recommendation, may be an effective strategy to improve caregivers' perceptions of starting new medications.