Can shared decision making increase the uptake of evidence in clinical practice?

New galaxies in the universe of shared decision-making and rheumatoid arthritis

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Implementing shared decision-making (SDM) is a top international priority to improve care for persons living with rheumatoid arthritis. Using SDM tools, such as decision aids improve patients' knowledge and support communication with their clinicians on treatment benefits and risks. Despite calls for SDM in treat-to-target, studies demonstrating effective SDM strategies in rheumatology clinical practice are scarce. Our objective was to identify recent and relevant literature on SDM in rheumatoid arthritis.

RECENT FINDINGS

We found a burgeoning literature on SDM in rheumatoid arthritis that tackles issues of implementation. Studies have evaluated the SDM process within clinical consultations and found that uptake is suboptimal. Trials of newly developed patient decision aids follow high methodological standards, but large-scale implementation is lacking. Innovative SDM strategies, such as shared goals and preference phenotypes may improve implementation of treat-to-target approach. Research and patient engagement are standardizing measures of SDM for clinical uses.

SUMMARY

Uptake of SDM in rheumatoid arthritis holds promise in wider clinicians' and patients' awareness, availability of decision aids, and broader treat-to-target implementation strategies, such as the learning collaborative. Focused attention is needed on facilitating SDM among diverse populations and those at risk of poorer outcomes and barriers to communication.

Talking about treatment benefits, harms, and what matters to patients in radiation oncology: an observational study

Background

Shared decision making is associated with improved patient outcomes in radiation oncology. Our study aimed to capture how shared decision-making practices–namely, communicating potential harms and benefits and discussing what matters to patients–occur in usual care.

Methods

We invited a convenience sample of clinicians and patients in a radiation oncology clinic to participate in a mixed methods study. Prior to consultations, clinicians and patients completed self-administered questionnaires. We audio-recorded consultations and conducted qualitative content analysis. Patients completed a questionnaire immediately post-consultation about their recall and perceptions.

Results

11 radiation oncologists, 4 residents, 14 nurses, and 40 patients (55% men; mean age 64, standard deviation or SD 9) participated. Patients had a variety of cancers; 30% had been referred for palliative radiotherapy. During consultations (mean length 45 min, SD 16), clinicians presented a median of 8 potential harms (interquartile range 6–11), using quantitative estimates 17% of the time. Patients recalled significantly fewer harms (median recall 2, interquartile range 0–3, t(38) = 9.3, p < .001). Better recall was associated with discussing potential harms with a nurse after seeing the physician (odds ratio 7.5, 95% confidence interval 1.3–67.0, p = .04.) Clinicians initiated 63% of discussions of harms and benefits while patients and families initiated 69% of discussions about values and preferences (Chi-squared(1) = 37.8, p < .001). 56% of patients reported their clinician asked what mattered to them.

Conclusions

Radiation oncology clinics may wish to use interprofessional care and initiate more discussions about what matters to patients to heed Jain’s (2014) reminder that, “a patient isn’t a disease with a body attached but a life into which a disease has intruded.”

The Patient Experience: Informing Practice through Identification of Meaningful Communication from the Patient's Perspective

(1) Background: There is limited empirical knowledge concerning aspects of healthcare that contribute to a good patient experience from the patient’s perspective and how patient feedback informs service development. (2) Aim: To examine the issues that influence the effectiveness of communication on patient satisfaction, experience and engagement, in an acute National Health Service (NHS) setting, through identification of the patient’s requirements and expectations. (3) Method: Data was gathered from a large teaching hospital using a Friends and Family Test (FFT) and a communication specific survey. Both surveys captured patient narrative to identify predominant influences to explain the quantitative responses. (4) Results: The key priorities for patients are involvement in their care and receiving the right amount of information to support this. However, the delivery of compassionate care was identified as having the most influence on the likelihood of patients to recommend an acute NHS Trust. (5) Conclusion: The findings support a broader understanding of the constituents of an all-encompassing patient experience from the patient’s perspective. (6) Implications: healthcare organizations need to focus their resources on how to improve patient/provider communication to support patients to be true partners in their care.

Family physicians' intention to support women in making informed decisions about breast cancer screening with mammography: a cross-sectional survey

BACKGROUND

The net benefits of routine breast cancer screening with mammography have been questioned, and there is evidence to indicate that supporting women to make an informed decision about breast cancer screening with mammography is preferable. The aims of this study were to assess the intention of family physicians to provide women with this support and the determinants of this intention, and to identify factors that might influence family physicians adopting this behavior.

METHODS

Family physicians from the province of Quebec, Canada, attending a 45-min lecture on informed decision making and cancer screening were asked to complete a questionnaire after the lecture regarding their intention to adopt the behavior. The questions, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, measured physicians' intention and its determinants (attitude, perceived behavioral control, and socio-professional norm) regarding supporting women to make informed decisions about breast cancer screening with mammography. Open-ended questions were also used to explore complementary factors influencing their intention.

RESULTS

Out of 800 questionnaires distributed, 301 (38 %) were returned and 288 were included in data analysis. The mean ± standard deviation and median score for intention were respectively 1.9 ± 1.2 and 2.0 on a 6-point Likert scale (-3 to +3). Perceived behavioral control was the variable most strongly associated with intention (high versus low score, odds ratio = 15.7, 95 % CI 6.7-36.6), followed by attitude (high versus low score, odds ratio = 7.5, 95 % CI 3.3-16.8), then social norm (high versus low score, odds ratio = 5.8, 95 % CI 2.6-12.9). The most-reported barrier to adopting the behavior was time constraints (41 %) while the most-reported facilitator was availability of relevant decision support tools (29 %).

CONCLUSIONS

Respondents showed strong intention to support women in informed decision-making about breast cancer screening, the strongest predictor being perceived behavioral control. These results could contribute to training physicians to integrate this behavior into their practices and to designing relevant decision support tools.

Nurses' intention to support informed decision-making about breast cancer screening with mammography: a survey

There is growing interest in informed decision-making about breast cancer screening with mammography and growing advocacy for the provision of balanced information about potential benefits and harms. The authors report on a survey evaluating nurses' intention to support women targeted by the Quebec Breast Cancer Screening Program in making informed decisions about breast cancer screening with mammography. Of the 840 questionnaires completed, 618 were included in the data analysis. The mean +/- standard deviation score for intention was 1.7 +/- 1.2 on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from -3 to +3, indicating strong intention to support the targeted women. Perceived behavioural control was the theory-based variable most strongly associated with intention, followed by attitude and social norm. These results can be used to develop interventions to train nurses in integrating informed decision-making about breast cancer screening with mammography into their practice and to design relevant decision support tools.