Patient and physician decision-making dynamics in overactive bladder care: A mixed methods study.

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Health Psychology
• Shared Decision-Making

Background:

• Overactive bladder (OAB) management offers various treatments with similar efficacy but diverse administration and side effect profiles.
• This variability necessitates shared decision-making (SDM) between patients and physicians for optimal care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate patient and physician health beliefs and expectations regarding OAB treatment decision-making.
• To identify factors influencing the SDM process in OAB management to improve patient care.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods approach combining questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with patients (n=20) and physicians (n=12).
• Exploration of valued therapy qualities, treatment selection processes, and patient/physician experiences with OAB therapies.

Main Results:

• Patients prioritized invasiveness, efficacy, and safety; physicians prioritized safety, convenience, cost, and patient preference.
• Key themes included treatment inaccessibility frustration, discordant patient education perceptions, differing outcome acceptability, and lack of insight into each other's priorities.

Conclusions:

• Both patients and physicians aim for shared decision-making in OAB therapy selection.
• Significant divergences in viewpoints across critical domains impede the shared decision-making process.