Fostering Shared Decision Making with Health Informatics Interventions Based on the Boosting Framework.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Medical Decision Making
• Patient Empowerment

Background:

• Growing medical knowledge offers more health options but involves complex trade-offs.
• Shared Decision Making (SDM) is a key paradigm for high-quality healthcare.
• eHealth tools can support personal health choices and SDM.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how the boosting framework can enhance patient competences for health decisions.
• To investigate the role of eHealth in fostering informed personal health choices.
• To identify new research directions for health informatics interventions.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual framework development (boosting framework).
• Exploration of eHealth applications for SDM.
• Analysis of patient competences in health decision-making.

Main Results:

• The boosting framework aims to improve competences like risk literacy for informed choices.
• eHealth offers digital support for information exchange and values clarification.
• Applying the boosting framework to SDM shows promise for future interventions.

Conclusions:

• The boosting framework and eHealth can significantly improve patient decision-making.
• Health informatics interventions, like decision support systems, can be informed by this approach.
• Empowering patients with better competences is crucial for navigating complex health decisions.