Decision Quality Is a Preference-Sensitive Formative Concept: How Do Some Existing Measures Compare?

Area of Science:

• Decision Sciences
• Health Services Research
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Decision quality is a critical outcome measure in decision-making processes.
• Existing measures of decision quality are varied and can be sensitive to context and individual preferences.
• Understanding the attributes of different decision quality instruments is essential for accurate evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine conceptual differences between two decision quality measures: Decision Quality Instruments and MyDecisionQuality.
• To highlight key attributes of decision quality measures relevant to their application.
• To inform the selection of appropriate decision quality measures based on specific evaluation needs.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of two distinct decision quality measurement instruments.
• Examination of conceptual differences focusing on four key attributes: timing, objectivity of information assessment, preference sensitivity, and application context (clinical practice vs. research).

Main Results:

• Identified four primary conceptual differences between the examined instruments.
• Differences include measurement timing (point of decision vs. follow-up), inclusion of objective information state assessment, instrument preference sensitivity, and intended use (individualized care vs. group feedback).

Conclusions:

• Decision quality is a preference- and context-sensitive construct, necessitating awareness of measure attributes.
• Agreed-upon measures are valuable but must acknowledge the inherent subjectivity and contextual factors.
• The choice of decision quality measure should align with the specific goals and context of the evaluation, similar to Health-Related Quality of Life measures.