The usage of social media encouraged patients' active participation in medical decision-making: cross-sectional survey (Preprint)

Author(s):  
Yen-Yuan Chen ◽  
Yu-Fang Cheng ◽  
Chau-Chung Wu ◽  
Tzong-Shinn Chu
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yen-Yuan Chen ◽  
Yu-Fang Cheng ◽  
Chau-Chung Wu ◽  
Tzong-Shinn Chu

BACKGROUND The rapid advance of information technology since the end of twentieth century has deeply influenced the ways people gather health information to use as references for medical decision-making. Studies have overwhelmingly been focused on the association between health information in the media and the usage of medical care, nevertheless, none of them have examined the association between the usage of social media for gathering health information and patients’ active participation in medical decision-making. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to examine the influence of the health information obtained from social media has on patients’ preference to actively participate in medical decision-making. METHODS The participants in this study were openly recruited from the patients who were admitted to the cardiology inpatient unit in the Department of Internal Medicine with an admission diagnosis of coronary artery disease. We used Control Preference Scale to estimate each patient’s preference to play an active role, a collaborative role, or a passive role in medical decision-making. We conducted multivariate logistic regression for examining the association between “gathering health information from social media” and “playing an active role in medical decision-making”, by including the confounding variables which have an association with the outcome variable with a p value of less than .30. RESULTS A total of 156 patients participated in this study. After adjusting for the confounding variables, patients who gathered health information related to coronary artery disease from social media were more likely to play an active role in medical decision-making (odds ratio = 2.85, p = 0.04). Furthermore, the odds of patients with one-year increment of their age for playing an active role in medical decision-making was decreased approximately by 6.20% (odds ratio = 0.94, p = 0.01), and patients cared for by Physician C preferred to play an active role as compared to other physicians (odds ratio = 5.37, p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS Although health information gathered from social media may have been discussed and validated by one’s companions on social media, there is no guarantee that the health information is correct. If the health information gathered from social media is correct, patients’ active participation in medical decision-making is helpful in facilitating physician-patient communication towards that aim. Future studies may be focused on how information seekers use modern information technology to gather correct health information. CLINICALTRIAL N/A


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mareike Benecke ◽  
Jürgen Kasper ◽  
Christoph Heesen ◽  
Nina Schäffler ◽  
Daniel Reissmann

Abstract Background: Evidence-based Dentistry (EBD), decision aids, patient preferences and autonomy preferences (AP) play an important role in shared decision making (SDM) and are useful tools in the process of medical and dental decisions as well as in developing of quality criteria for decision making in many fields of health care. However, there aren’t many studies on SDM and AP in the field of dentistry. This study aimed at exploring patients’ autonomy preferences in dentistry in comparison to other medical domains. Methods: As a first step, a consecutive sample of 100 dental patients and 16 dentists was recruited at a university-based prosthodontic clinic to assess and compare patients’ and dentists’ preferences regarding their roles in dental decision making for commonly performed diagnostic and treatment decisions using the Control Preference Scale (CPS). This was followed by a cross sectional survey to study autonomy preferences in three cohorts of 100 patients each recruited from general practices, a multiple sclerosis clinic, and a university-based prosthodontic clinic . A questionnaire with combined items from the Autonomy Preference Index (API) to assess general and the CPS to assess specific preferences was used in this process. Results: Dentists were slightly less willing to deliver control than patients willing to enact autonomy. Decisions about management of tooth loss were however considered relevant for a shared decision making by both parties. Highest AP was expressed by people with multiple sclerosis, lowest by patients in dentistry (CPS means: dentistry 2.5, multiple sclerosis 2.1, general practice 2.4, p=.035). Patients analysis showed considerable differences in autonomy preferences referring to different decision types (p<.001). More autonomy was needed for treatment decisions in comparison to diagnostic decisions, for trivial compared to severe conditions, and for dental care compared to general practice (all: p<.001). Conclusion: The study results showed substantial relevance of patient participation in decision making in dentistry. Furthermore, a need has been discovered to refer to specific medical decisions instead of assessing autonomy preferences in general.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mareike Benecke ◽  
Jürgen Kasper ◽  
Christoph Heesen ◽  
Nina Schäffler ◽  
Daniel Reissmann

Abstract Background: Evidence-based Dentistry (EBD), decision aids, patient preferences and autonomy preferences (AP) play an important role in shared decision making (SDM) and are useful tools in the process of medical and dental decisions as well as in developing of quality criteria for decision making in many fields of health care. However, there aren’t many studies on SDM and AP in the field of dentistry. This study aimed at exploring patients’ autonomy preferences in dentistry in comparison to other medical domains. Methods: As a first step, a consecutive sample of 100 dental patients and 16 dentists was recruited at a university-based prosthodontic clinic to assess and compare patients’ and dentists’ preferences regarding their roles in dental decision making for commonly performed diagnostic and treatment decisions using the Control Preference Scale (CPS). This was followed by a cross sectional survey to study autonomy preferences in three cohorts of 100 patients each recruited from general practices, a multiple sclerosis clinic, and a university-based prosthodontic clinic. A questionnaire with combined items from the Autonomy Preference Index (API) to assess general and the CPS to assess specific preferences was used in this process. Results: Dentists were slightly less willing to deliver control than patients willing to enact autonomy. Decisions about management of tooth loss were however considered relevant for a shared decision making by both parties. Highest AP was expressed by people with multiple sclerosis, lowest by patients in dentistry (CPS means: dentistry 2.5, multiple sclerosis 2.1, general practice 2.4, p=.035). Patients analysis showed considerable differences in autonomy preferences referring to different decision types (p<.001). More autonomy was needed for treatment decisions in comparison to diagnostic decisions, for trivial compared to severe conditions, and for dental care compared to general practice (all: p<.001). Conclusion: The study results showed substantial relevance of patient participation in decision making in dentistry. Furthermore, a need has been discovered to refer to specific medical decisions instead of assessing autonomy preferences in general.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 237437352110460
Author(s):  
Carri S. Polick ◽  
Jennifer W. Applebaum ◽  
Caitlin Hanna ◽  
Darnysus Jackson ◽  
Sophia Tsaras-Schumacher ◽  
...  

Hospital-based protocols to support pet care needs for hospitalized patients may have potential to benefit patient health and wellbeing, but must be informed by experiences of hospitalized pet owners. The aim of this study was to determine the scope and need for pet care services among hospitalized patients. A panel of prior inpatients and their family members at a tertiary care center were surveyed about preferences, experiences, and need for assistance with pet care during hospitalization. Respondents (n = 113) expressed interest in a low/no-cost pet-boarding or foster program for adult patients struggling to find pet care assistance. The majority of respondents (n = 71; 63%) reported challenges securing pet care during a prior hospitalization, and/or knew someone who encountered similar challenges. Respondents also indicated that these challenges had a negative impact on health, recovery, or their own decision to receive medical care. Pet care challenges during hospitalization are likely common and have the potential to hamper medical decision-making and health outcomes of inpatients.


Author(s):  
Jessica Berg

This article explores the ethical and legal issues involved in the use of social media to make end-of-life decisions. After providing an overview of social media such as online forums, virtual worlds, blogs, and social network sites, it considers the many different ways that social media might play a role in medical decision making. It then looks at the current legal framework for surrogate decision making and the concerns arising from the use of social media in such an endeavor. The article concludes by stressing the role of clinicians and ethics committees in helping surrogates navigate the complexities of medical decision making in the Internet age.


2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (1121) ◽  
pp. 148-154
Author(s):  
Oliver Pumphrey ◽  
Jack Grenville ◽  
Matthew Colquhoun ◽  
Barry Mullins ◽  
Patrick Earls ◽  
...  

PurposeTo identify and analyse variations in self-reported decision-making strategies between medical professionals of different specialty and grade.Study designWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of doctors of different specialities and grades at St. George’s Hospital, London, UK. We administered 226 questionnaires asking participants to assign proportions of their clinical decision-making behaviour to four strategies: intuitive, analytical, rule-based and creative.ResultsWe found that physicians said they used rule-based decision-making significantly more than did surgeons and anaesthetists (p = 0.025) and analytical decision-making strategies significantly less (p = 0.003). In addition, we found that both intuitive (p = 0.0005) and analytical (p = 0.0005) decision-making had positive associations with increasing experience, whereas rule-based decision-making was negatively associated with greater experience (p = 0.0005).ConclusionsDecision-making strategies may evolve with increasing clinical experience from a predominant use of rule-based approaches towards greater use of intuitive or analytical methods depending on the familiarity and acuity of the clinical situation. Rule-based strategies remain important for delivering evidence-based care, particularly for less experienced clinicians, and for physicians more than surgeons, possibly due to the greater availability and applicability of guidelines for medical problems. Anaesthetists and intensivists tend towards more analytical decision-making than physicians; an observation which might be attributable to the greater availability and use of objective data in the care environment. As part of broader training in non-technical skills and human factors, increasing awareness among trainees of medical decision-making models and their potential pitfalls might contribute to reducing the burden of medical error in terms of morbidity, mortality and litigation.


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