Could shared decision making affect staying in hospital? A cross-sectional pilot study

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Patient-Centered Care
• Clinical Communication

Background:

• Shared Decision Making (SDM) enhances patient engagement and benefits the healthcare system.
• Investigating patient perception of SDM and its influencing factors is crucial.
• Evaluating SDM's impact on hospital stay and expenditure provides economic insights.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate patients' perception of their participation in treatment choices.
• To identify influences on decision aids and therapeutic choices within SDM.
• To assess the impact of SDM on hospital length of stay and healthcare costs in Piemonte, Italy.

Main Methods:

• A 2016 cross-sectional study involving patients from Rivoli and Susa Hospitals.
• Data collected via questionnaires and Hospital Discharge Registers, adhering to STROBE guidelines.
• Descriptive analysis and statistical tests (t-test, chi-square, Mann-Whitney) were employed.

Main Results:

• Over half of 174 subjects reported experiencing SDM.
• Female gender and younger age were associated with higher SDM perception.
• Positive communication factors (information quality, opinion consideration, time spent, understandable language) predicted perceived SDM.

Conclusions:

• Patient-clinician relationship dynamics significantly influence perceived SDM.
• Healthcare professional-dependent factors are the strongest determinants of perceived SDM.
• SDM did not significantly impact hospital length of stay or expenditure in this study.