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Patients' expressed and unexpressed needs for information for informed consent
1Saint Louis University's Center for Health Care Ethics, USA. rvolpe@slu.edu
Meeting patients' expressed and unexpressed information needs equally upholds their autonomy in healthcare. This ensures patients receive the right quantity, source, tone, and order of information for informed consent.
Area of Science:
- Bioethics
- Patient Autonomy
- Informed Consent
Background:
- Informed consent is crucial for patient autonomy.
- Two key features of informed consent involve patient information.
- Existing research covers expressed and unexpressed patient information needs separately.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the integration of expressed and unexpressed patient information needs.
- To enhance the application of the principle of autonomy in informed consent.
Main Methods:
- Literature review synthesizing research on expressed patient information needs (quantity, source).
- Cognitive psychology perspective on unexpressed patient information needs (tone, order).
Main Results:
- Patients have distinct expressed needs regarding information quantity and source.
- Unexpressed needs involve cognitive aspects like information tone and order.
- Addressing both expressed and unexpressed needs is vital.
Conclusions:
- Patient autonomy is optimally supported when both expressed and unexpressed information needs are met concurrently.
- Integrating these needs enhances the quality of informed consent.
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