Improving shared decision-making in a clinical obstetric ward by using the three questions intervention, a pilot...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare research
• Patient engagement
• Clinical interventions

Background:

• Shared decision-making (SDM) is crucial in modern healthcare.
• Few studies have evaluated SDM interventions in inpatient settings.
• The 'three questions' tool, effective in outpatient settings, aims to enhance patient information and informed decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the 'three questions' intervention on SDM in an obstetric inpatient department.
• To evaluate the impact of a simple tool designed to improve patient-provider communication and informed choices.

Main Methods:

• A 6-week pilot study using a mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative).
• Pre-intervention (3 weeks) and intervention (3 weeks) groups measured SDM using the SDM-Q9 questionnaire at discharge.
• Qualitative data collected through interviews with four patients in the intervention group.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant difference in SDM scores between the pre-intervention (65.5) and intervention (63.2) groups.
• Patient interviews indicated the 'three questions' were useful as prompts for more specific inquiries.
• The intervention was found to be feasible and easy to implement in the inpatient setting.

Conclusions:

• The 'three questions' intervention did not show a significant improvement in SDM, potentially due to a small sample size.
• The intervention is feasible and simple for use in inpatient settings.
• Further large-scale studies are recommended to confirm the impact of this SDM tool.