The decision making control instrument to assess voluntary consent

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Psychometrics
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Ensuring informed and voluntary consent is crucial for medical interventions and research participation.
• Parental decision-making for critically ill children requires careful consideration of voluntariness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an instrument measuring parents' perceived voluntariness when making decisions for their seriously ill children.
• Introduce the Decision Making Control Instrument (DMCI) as a novel tool for assessing perceived control in medical decision-making.

Main Methods:

• A 28-item experimental form of the DMCI was administered to 219 parents at a tertiary care children's hospital.
• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were employed to refine the instrument.
• The study utilized statistical techniques to validate the construct and internal consistency of the DMCI.

Main Results:

• Factor analysis reduced the instrument to a 9-item scale with three dimensions: Self-Control, Absence of Control, and Others' Control.
• The 3-factor model demonstrated consistency with the collected data.
• The DMCI exhibited high internal consistency (0.83 overall, 0.68-0.87 for subscales) and construct validity, correlating with affect, trust, and decision self-efficacy measures.

Conclusions:

• The Decision Making Control Instrument (DMCI) is a reliable and valid tool for assessing perceived voluntariness in medical decision-making.
• The DMCI can enhance understanding of treatment and research decision voluntariness in pediatric healthcare settings.
• This instrument provides valuable insights into the psychological factors influencing parental consent for medical interventions.