[Shared decision making (SDM): a systematic survey of terminology use and concepts]

Shared decision making (SDM) has been investigated in numerous research projects. In 2001 the German Ministry of Health initiated a research program on patients as partners in medical decision making ("Der Patient als Partner im medizinischen Entscheidungsprozess"). In this context a large number of studies has been conducted on SDM. In this review the concept of SDM and the use of this term in scientific publications of German study groups is explored. A systematic literature review generated 147 publications on SDM by German researchers, which had been published between 2000 and 2009. The majority of publications identified in this study refer to clinical studies on patients with chronic diseases. Content analysis of the retrieved publications indicates that SDM as a term is used heterogeneously. There is only little research on the theoretical foundations and ethical implications of SDM. In addition to existent Anglo-Saxon definitions of SDM, new concepts of SDM such as involvement of relatives in the process of decision making were identified as part of this review of the German literature. There is only a limited number of empirical studies with a consistent approach towards a definition of SDM and the respective measurements. Against this background, the "SDM questionnaire", which had been developed as part of the German Ministry of Health's research programme, is an important contribution with respect to operationalising SDM and testing possible effects of SDM in clinical practice.