Understanding shared decision making in pediatric otolaryngology

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Decision Science
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Parental involvement in pediatric surgical decisions is crucial.
• Understanding decisional conflict is key to improving patient and family experiences.
• Shared decision making (SDM) aims to involve patients and families in healthcare choices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess decisional conflict in parents considering surgery for their children.
• To examine the relationship between decisional conflict and perceptions of shared decision making.

Main Methods:

• Prospective cohort study in an academic pediatric otolaryngology clinic.
• 65 parents of children undergoing elective surgery completed questionnaires on SDM and decisional conflict.
• Surgeons also completed a physician version of the SDM questionnaire.

Main Results:

• 16.9% of parents reported significant decisional conflict (Decisional Conflict Scale > 25).
• Higher perceived involvement in shared decision making correlated with lower decisional conflict.
• Parent and physician perceptions of SDM were unrelated, and physician ratings did not correlate with parental decisional conflict.

Conclusions:

• A notable proportion of parents face significant decisional conflict regarding pediatric surgery.
• Enhancing parents' perceived involvement in shared decision making may mitigate decisional conflict.
• Discrepancies in SDM perceptions between parents and physicians warrant further investigation and intervention.