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Shared decision making with breast cancer patients - does it work? Results of the cluster-randomized, multicenter
Stine Rauff Søndergaard1, Troels Bechmann2, Else Maae3
1Department of Oncology, Lillebaelt Hospital - University Hospital of Southern Denmark, Vejle, Denmark; Center for Shared Decision Making, Lillebaelt Hospital - University Hospital of Southern Denmark, Vejle, Denmark; Institute of Regional Health Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; OPEN, Open Patient data Explorative Network, Odense University Hospital, Region of Southern Denmark.
Background And Purpose:
Shared decision making (SDM) is a patient engaging process advocated especially for preference-sensitive decisions, such as adjuvant treatment after breast cancer. An increasing call for patient engagement in decision making highlights the need for a systematic SDM approach. The objective of this trial was to investigate whether the Decision Helper (DH), an in-consultation patient decision aid, increases patient engagement in decisions regarding adjuvant whole breast irradiation.
Material And Methods:
Oncologists at four radiotherapy units were randomized to practice SDM using the DH versus usual practice. Patient candidates for adjuvant whole breast irradiation after breast conserving surgery for node-negative breast cancer were eligible. The primary endpoint was patient-reported engagement in the decision process assessed with the Shared Decision Making Questionnaire (SDM-Q-9) (range 0-100, 4 points difference considered clinical relevant). Other endpoints included oncologist-reported patient engagement, decisional conflict, fear of cancer recurrence, and decision regret after 6 months.
Results:
Of the 674 included patients, 635 (94.2%) completed the SDM-Q-9. Patients in the intervention group reported higher level of engagement (median 80; IQR 68.9 to 94.4) than the control group (71.1; IQR 55.6 to 82.2; p < 0.0001). Oncologist-reported patient engagement was higher in the invention group (93.3; IQR 82.2 to 100) compared to control group (73.3; IQR 60.0 to 84.4) (p < 0.0001).
Conclusion:
Patient engagement in medical decision making was significantly improved with the use of an in-consultation patient decision aid compared to standard. The DH on adjuvant whole breast irradiation is now recommended as standard of care in the Danish guideline.
