Decision aids are evidence-based sources of health information that can help patients make informed treatment decisions. However, little is known about how decision aids affect health care use when they are implemented outside of randomized controlled clinical trials. We conducted an observational study to examine the associations between introducing decision aids for hip and knee osteoarthriti...

AIM The purpose of this study was to translate evidence from Cochrane Reviews into a format that can be used to facilitate shared decision making during the consultation, namely patient decision aids. METHODS A systematic development process (a) established a stakeholder committee; (b) developed a prototype according to the International Patient Decision Aid Standards; (c) applied the prototy...

BACKGROUND Decision aids are often advocated as a means to assist patient and health care provider decision making when faced with complicated treatment or screening decisions. Despite an exponential growth in the availability of decision aids in recent years, their impact on long-term treatment decisions and patient adherence is uncertain due to a paucity of rigorous studies. The choice of ant...

BACKGROUND Patient information and education, such as decision aids, are gradually moving toward online, computer-based environments. Considerable research has been conducted to guide content and presentation of decision aids. However, given the relatively new shift to computer-based support, little attention has been given to how multimedia and interactivity can improve upon paper-based decisi...

Unintended pregnancies are an important public health issue. Long-acting reversible contraceptive methods (LARCs) are reliable, safe, highly effective methods for most women; however they are underutilized in the United States. Shared decision aids were added to usual care in five public health family planning clinics in the Southeastern United States, staffed by advance practice nurses and reg...

BACKGROUND Advance care planning (ACP) aids can help prepare patients, family members, and physicians for in-the-moment medical decision-making. We wished to describe the content and approach of paper-based ACP aids in order to characterize existing aids and inform the development of a new ACP aid. METHODS Paper-based ACP aids were identified through an environmental scan and screened for eli...

BACKGROUND Decision-making during pregnancy regarding different options of care can be difficult, particularly when risks of intervention versus no intervention for mother and baby are unclear. Unbiased information and support for decision making may be beneficial in these situations. The management of normal pregnancies at and beyond term is an example of such a situation. In order to determin...

Interactive decision support applications might help patients to make difficult decisions about their health care. They lie in the context of traditional decision aids, which are known to have effects on a number of patient outcomes, including knowledge and decisional conflict. The problem of restricted uptake with decision aids may be addressed by interactive applications, particularly if asso...

BACKGROUND Consensus guidelines have recommended that decision aids include a process for helping patients clarify their values. We sought to examine the theoretical and empirical evidence related to the use of values clarification methods in patient decision aids. METHODS Building on the International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS) Collaboration's 2005 review of values clarification ...