Surveys investigated experience and perceptions of a variety of weight care solutions, including virtual care and GLP-1s

Rock Health Advisory engaged Evidation to conduct the 2024 Weight Care Experience Survey Series to better understand the lived experiences of individuals using weight management solutions, including digital solutions and prescription medications.  This series consisted of 3 separate surveys deployed over 8 months and with participation from over 150,000 individuals on the Evidation app. 

Today, Rock Health is sharing findings from their analysis of these nationwide surveys, which you can read in detail on the Rock Health blog. Survey analysis was based on a subset of survey participants adjusting for demographic representativeness.  

Survey Highlights

• Most individuals surveyed lost less weight than they wanted on their most recent attempt.
• But not for lack of trying—individuals are employing multiple weight loss strategies at once, but still don’t always believe that doing so contributes to better results.
• Cost and insurance coverage remain the top barriers to GLP-1 treatment. Forty-one percent of those who had previously taken or were currently taking GLP-1s were denied insurance coverage.
• Relationships with clinicians matter.  For weight care specifically, survey participants were most open to an in-person care setting with a clinician they knew; 58% of respondents were open to this option.
• Individuals are looking for holistic support in their weight care journeys. Mental health support, along with nutrition and exercise support, was of interest to survey participants.

Context

Obesity and related conditions are pressing public health concerns that have profound impacts on individuals' daily lives and health.  Most states in the US have no fellowship-trained obesity medicine doctors, while experts predict that almost half of Americans will be obese by 2030.  While GLP-1s have garnered much attention, one recent study suggests most individuals don’t stay on GLP-1s past two years, and Evidation’s own research suggests that a majority of past users of GLP-1s are dissatisfied with their weight and are less likely to be using other weight management strategies that they had utilized previously. There remains significant unmet needs in weight management, and new strategies and solutions must be investigated.

Evidation’s approach to data collection

Rock Health designed participant surveys based on their research objectives and analyzed all data as part of this work.

Data collected for these surveys was directly permissioned by individuals on the Evidation app. Almost 5 million Members strong, Evidation rewards users for engaging in healthy activities and contributing to health research. 

Evidation has been working with its millions of members across the country to gain visibility into the lived health experiences of individuals across dozens of therapeutic and disease areas since 2010.  

Evidation's direct-to-participant research and data collection capabilities:

• Capture insights, experiences, and unmet needs, in-depth and longitudinally, that may not be included in other sources of real-world data or in clinical settings.
• Provide access to a diverse, engaged, and representative research cohort.
• Help mitigate impacts of social stigma and bias in clinical settings, by going directly to patients to understand their experiences.
• Prioritize transparency, participant consent, and user permissioning.

Using Evidation, health researchers can comprehensively characterize and measure disease onset and progression, treatment impact, quality of life, and social determinants of health across diverse populations over longer observation periods. 

Learn more about Evidation’s real-world research and recruitment capabilities here.