Long-Term Effectiveness of a Decision Support App (Pink Journey) for Women Considering Breast Reconstruction Surgery: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Various kinds of breast reconstruction (BR) options, including implants and autologous, and surgery techniques, including traditional and endoscope assisted, can be used to perform surgery. All options have their own advantages and disadvantages. Women decide on an option depending on the values and preferences they emphasize. Lacking knowledge about BR or having decision difficulties during the treatment decision process makes women experience more decision regret, psychological distress, and poor body image. Delivering decision support with a values clarification exercise using eHealth approaches would be beneficial for patient outcomes. Objective This study aims to examine the effects of a decision support app on decision-making quality and psychological morbidity for women considering BR surgery. Methods This randomized controlled trial included women who were over 20 years of age and were newly diagnosed with breast cancer and candidates for mastectomy. Women having an option for breast conservation were excluded. After being referred from the outpatient physician, the women provided consent and completed the baseline assessment. Women allocated to the control group (CG) received usual care and were provided with a pamphlet with information about types of surgery and the advantages and disadvantages of different surgery types. Women allocated to the intervention group (IG) were given the same pamphlet and guided to use the Pink Journey app to support their decision. Then they were also prompted to discuss the opinions with their significant others. Finally, the decision-making process of using the app was printed out for women that they could take home. Decision conflict, anxiety, and depression were measured at baseline. At 1 week after the intervention (T1) and at 1 month (T2), 8 months (T3), and 12 months (T4) after surgery, the women completed decision conflict, decision regret, anxiety, depression, and body image scales. An intention-to-treat analysis was performed. Results From February 2018 to July 2019, 96 women were randomly assigned to the CG (n=48) or the IG (n=48). Results revealed that body image distress declined significantly for the IG but increased for the CG. The interaction of time and group also reached significance, indicating a significant decrease in body image distress from baseline in the IG compared with the CG after the 12th month (T4) follow-up (β=–2.25, standard error=1.01, P=.027). However, there was no significant difference in decision conflict (P=.21-.87), decision regret (P=.44-.55), anxiety (P=.26-.33), and depression (P=.20-.75), indicating that the decrease in these outcomes in the IG was not greater than those in the CG. Conclusions Although we found no effect on decision conflict, decision regret, anxiety, and depression, a decision aid that combines surgery information and values clarification can help women reduce their body image distress. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04190992; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04190992

Parental Decision Regret after Consenting to or Refusing Hypospadias Repair: an Australian Survey

Background: Parental decision regret in hypospadias surgery is a recognised source of long-lasting psycho-social morbidity. Its reported prevalence is high but until now, it has not been studied in Australasian context or among parents who declined the repair for their son. The aim of this study is to report on decision regret in an Australian cohort of parents, including parents who accepted or who declined repair for their son and explore underlying factors for decision-making, satisfaction, and regret. Methods: An online anonymous survey was administered to three groups: 1) parents who consented for hypospadias repair, 2) parents who declined repair and 3) a control group who requested circumcision for their child. Operations occurred between 2010 and 2020. The survey included a validated decision regret assessment tool and additional questions to explore the possible basis of the opinions. Results: One hundred and eighteen parents (eligible 381, response rate 31%) participated. Decision regret was present in group 1 (n=89) – 55% (moderate-to-severe 15%), in group 2 (n= 14) – 71% (moderate-to-severe 57%), and in the control group (n=15) – 15% (moderate-to-severe 8%) of parents. There was a significant difference in the median decision regret score between all three groups. Parents who chose hypospadias repair were mostly concerned about function. They named the direction of the urine from the tip of the penis as the most satisfying outcome, and the appearance of the foreskin and the need for several operations as the least satisfying outcomes of the repair. Conclusions: The prevalence of decision regret among Australian parents who consented for their son’s hypospadias repair was lower compared with the mean decision regret reported in the literature to date (55% vs 65%). Decision regret and its severity were highest among parents who declined hypospadias repair. New strategies are needed to reduce decision regret in parents whether or not they elect for surgery.

Decision Regret and Quality of Life after Focal Therapy with Vascular-Targeted Photodynamic Therapy (TOOKAD®) for Localized Prostate Cancer

<b><i>Purpose:</i></b> The aim of the study was to assess quality of life (QoL), decision involvement, and decisional regret after treatment with vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy (VTP) (TOOKAD®) for unilateral low-risk prostate cancer. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Validated questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-PR25) capturing QoL post-treatment, involvement in decision-making (Control Preferences Scale) and decision regret (Decisional Regret Scale), were given to patients at the 12-month visit after undergoing VTP at our institution between May 2018 and February 2021. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Out of 44 patients, 36 patients were included in this study and 31 (86.1%) responded to the questionnaires. Mean overall health score capturing QoL at 12 months was 79.3 (standard deviation: ±18.1). 70.9% of the patients (<i>n</i> = 22) had no decision regret, and 67.8% of men (<i>n</i> = 21) had an active role in decision-making. In control biopsy at 12 months post-treatment, 19.4% of patients (<i>n</i> = 7) presented with local recurrence and progression to higher Gleason score (GS) was found in 13.8% of patients (<i>n</i> = 5). Patients (<i>n</i> = 3) presenting with tumor recurrence or progression to higher GS in control biopsy showed a significantly higher level of decision regret (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.009). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Only 9.7% of men (<i>n</i> = 3) felt a strong emotion of regret at 12 months after VTP. Level of decision regret was significantly higher in patients with local recurrence or tumor progression detected in control biopsy. QoL was stable after VTP.

Stigmatization of Voluntarily Childfree Women and Men in the UK

People who choose not to have children may face negative social judgment. Using a UK sample, Study 1 ( N = 199) successfully replicated Ashburn-Nardo’s (2017) finding that childfree targets are perceived as less psychologically fulfilled than targets with children. The effect, however, appeared limited to expected decision regret rather than general fulfillment, which was later confirmed in Study 2 ( N = 329). In contrast to Ashburn-Nardo , our results did not indicate that moral outrage mediates the effect (Study 1), but exploratory findings suggested that perceivers who intend to have children of their own perceive the childfree as morally inferior and less likable (Study 2). Participants’ endorsement of conservative values was not consistently related to negative perceptions of childfree targets.