Developing an Educational and Decision Support Tool for Stage I Lung Cancer Using Decision Science

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Medical Decision Making
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Shared decision-making is recommended for high-risk, operable stage I lung cancer treatment.
• Patient decision aids support shared decision-making but face implementation challenges.
• Development and evaluation of these tools in routine care present opportunities and hurdles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reflect on the development process of patient decision support tools.
• To identify challenges in implementing tools considering patient, clinician, and workflow needs.
• To propose recommendations for developing, refining, and implementing similar tools.

Main Methods:

• Review of guidelines for decision aid development.
• Description of applying guidelines to create a tool for stage I lung cancer patients choosing between radiation and surgery.
• Highlighting challenges encountered during tool implementation and evaluation.

Main Results:

• Discussion of established guidelines for decision aid creation.
• Detailed account of developing an educational and decision support tool for lung cancer treatment choices.
• Identification of specific implementation and evaluation challenges.

Conclusions:

• Recommendations are provided for clinicians aiming to develop, refine, or implement decision support tools.
• The review offers practical insights for integrating patient decision aids into routine clinical care.