Patient decision making in recovering from surgery

Area of Science:

• Decision Science
• Patient Experience Research
• Surgical Recovery

Background:

• Surgery recovery requires patients to make complex decisions in naturalistic settings.
• These decisions aim to minimize risk and maximize safety, akin to professional judgment.
• Patients often lack training, education, or decision support for this critical work.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply the Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) theoretical lens to patient decision-making during surgery recovery.
• To illustrate how macrocognition can frame the challenges faced by patients managing their recovery.
• To validate the appropriateness of NDM methods for studying patient recovery work.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a lived experience narrative to explore patient decision-making.
• Applied the macrocognitive paradigm to understand the cognitive demands of recovery.
• Examined the suitability of Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) theoretical lens and methods.

Main Results:

• Patient recovery work involves complex judgments and decisions comparable to professional tasks.
• The burden of decision-making in recovery can be effectively understood through a macrocognitive framework.
• NDM provides a suitable theoretical lens and methodological approach for this domain.

Conclusions:

• Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) is an appropriate framework for studying patient decision-making in surgery recovery.
• Macrocognition effectively captures the complex cognitive load of post-surgical self-care.
• Further research using NDM methods can improve support for patients undergoing surgery recovery.