This page is up-dated regularly with Decision Laboratory news and research highlights. | 
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The Health Foundation fund Shared Decision Making Programme
3 August 2010 Professor Glyn Elwyn and colleagues have been awarded a programme grant by The Health Foundation to work on the implementation of shared decision making in a number of clinical teams, including breast, head and neck cancer and primary care. Shared decision making in healthcare is a process in which patients are encouraged to participate in selecting appropriate treatment or management options. Despite the strength of evidence that has accumulated for the effectiveness of shared decision-making and the use of patient decision aids, the challenge of embedding it in routine clinical practice remains. The primary aims of the MAGIC “making good decisions in collaboration” project are to demonstrate that shared decisionmaking can feasibly, affordably and sustainably become a core characteristic of routine clinical care, both within primary and secondary care. Throughout the project the team will build practical and transferrable knowledge about how this can be achieved and what the conditions for success are. Professor Adrian Edwards said: “The concept of shared decision making has rarely moved beyond the realm of academia and research studies, yet we are moving towards a ‘tipping point’ in the adoption of ‘informed patient choice’ as a standard of practice. Despite many efforts in other settings worldwide, the challenges of implementation have not yet been effectively met. This programme will allow us to move beyond research studies and lead the field in addressing these challenges. We hope to initiate a lasting impact on the way shared decision making becomes embedded in everyday practice”. The project will be co-led by Professor Richard Thomson at Newcastle University, and the team will also be working with the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and the Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust. Various primary care and secondary care teams will be taking part in the programme, including the ENT and Breast Cancer Teams at the UHW. Work on the programme will commence in August 2010, with an official launch in Cardiff in October 2010. Professors Mike Barry and Al Mulley, pioneers in shared decision making, will be visiting from Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, on the 4th and 5th October 2010. In order to mark the launch of the MAGIC project, they will conduct a serious of seminars and lectures. Full details of the scheduled events are available on the events web page. If you have any queries about the MAGIC project, please contact the project manager Natalie Joseph-Williams: JosephNJ1@cf.ac.uk |
Further coverage in Health Service Journal:
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New Decision Laboratory research study enables internet users to assess their own future risk of heart disease
11 February 2010 myHeartRisk is a website that assesses risk of developing heart disease in the future, by using information about health status and lifestyle. It has been developed as part of a study by conducted by the Clinical Epidemiology IRG. The study is looking for volunteers to visit the website, who are aged between 45 and 64 years of age, have not been previously diagnosed with heart disease, had a cardiac event (such as a heart attack or angina) or had a stroke. The aim of the research study is to examine perceptions and attitudes towards heart disease, and provide insight into what people think about their risk when it is presented to them in a certain way. £1 will be donated to the British Heart Foundation for every person who takes part and completes the study. The University is hoping to raise over £1,000. If you are interested in taking part please visit: www.myHeartRisk.co.uk |
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GPs' views wanted to help with research into the medical encounter03 February 2010 GPs are needed to help with research into communication in the medical encounter, an area which researchers at the Clinical Epidemiology IRG, Cardiff University have a special interest in. The short web-based survey takes around 15 minutes to complete. The first 400 respondents who volunteer for the survey will be asked to read and consider a brief medical scenario, before answering a set of questions to gauge views and opinions. All those who take part will automatically be entered into a raffle to win one of three high quality digital SLR cameras (Nikon D40), which will be suitable for a range of uses, including clinical work. Respondents will also be sent a summary of the research in this area and, in due course, the results (which may be included in GP appraisal folders). To take part in the study, please send an email with your name to Angela Watkins via WatkinsA6@cardiff.ac.uk |
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Ernst Strüngmann Forum for envisioning health care 202004 November 2009 Decision Laboratory co-lead, Professor Glyn Elwyn was part of the team of international experts who met in Frankfurt last week to systematically analyse the multiple issues involved in health literacy - a problem that affects both patients and health-care providers, and hinders the delivery of of quality health care. Entitled Better Doctors, Better Patients, Better Decisions: Envisioning Health Care 2020, the forum provided a platform for the experts to pool their experience from clinical work, psychology, economy, public health, industry and insurance to investigate causation and delineate concrete ways to improve health literacy. Professor Elwyn comments: "Collaborating with so many international experts in an unique small group format was an unforgettable experience. That this will lead to a book to be published by the MIT Press is just the icing on the cake." The Ernst Strüngmann Forum is dedicated to the promotion of interdisciplinary communication and research. Through its innovative communication process, the Ernst Strüngmann Forum provides a creative environment within which top international scientists discuss themes that transcend classic disciplinary boundaries. Visit the Ernst Strümlngmann Forum website at: www.fias.uni-frankfurt.de/esforum
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New Decision Laboratory study awarded:Examining the relationship between decision support interventions and outcome measurements: applying the IPDAS instrument to the results of the Cochrane systematic reviews of decision aids.
October 2009 This one year study will build upon the quality checklist and instrument developed by the International Patient Decision Aid Standards Collaboration (IPDAS) which measures the quality of patient decision support interventions. Led by Professor Glyn Elwyn in Cardiff University, in collaboration with the universities of North Carolina, Ottawa and Baylor College of Medicine, the project aims to improve the validity and reliability of the IPDAS instrument on the minimum acceptable score for offering 'certification' of decision support interventions. IPDASi will be funded by the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, Boston, a non-profit organisation dedicated to assuring that people understand their choices and have the information they need to make sound decisions affecting their health and well being. |
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Prosdex recommended in revised guides for GPs
27 July 2009 Decision Laboratory patient decision support intervention, Prosdex has been recommended in updated prostate screening guidance for GPs and patients developed by the NHS Cancer Screening Programmes. In July 2009, GPs were sent sent information packs containing a reference booklet and a summary sheet for healthcare workers, as well as an information sheet for patients. The new guidance provides information on recent research, including recent studies into the risks and benefits of PSA testing. Professor Julietta Patnick, director of the NHS Cancer Screening Programmes, said the updated materials would allow primary care practitioners to provide the latest advice to patients. "There are advantages to a man knowing his PSA level, as this can find cancer at an ‘early' stage,' she said. ‘However, there are a number of uncertainties surrounding the PSA test and the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. Currently there is uncertainty whether the benefits of a national PSA-based screening programme would outweigh the harms." Visit the article featured in Healthcare Republic Access the updated Prostate Cancer Risk Management GP Information Pack on the NHS Cancer Screening website |
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amnioDex wins international accoladeJune 2009 Decision Laboratory website, amnioDex has won the two top awards of ‘Best of Show’ and ‘Gold Award’ at the 2009 Health and Science Communications Association (HeSCA) Media Festival held in St Louis, USA. See the HeSCA website for further details: www.hesca.org  |  |
Decision Laboratory at ISDM Conference 2009June 2009 The Decision Laboratory team were well represented at the 5th International Shared Decision Making Conference, Boston, MA. Aural presentations from the Decision Laboratory researchers included:
See the ISDM website for further details: www.informedmedicaldecisions.org/isdm2009 |
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New Book Published: Shared decision-making in health care Achieving evidence-based patient choice (Second Edition).Edited by Adrian Edwards and Glyn ElwynMay 2009 When the first edition of this book came out in 2001, it examined the emerging themes of patient choice and clinical decision-making, and looked at how these might develop in the future. Since then, these issues have become even more topical. Evidence-based medicine is deeply ingrained in the practice of modern medicine, while patient choice is increasingly high on the political agenda. But can the two trends co-exist? "Shared Decision Making" has developed in response to the sometimes uneasy relationship between a patient's right to have input into their treatment options, and a clinician's responsibility to provide the best evidence-based health care. "This well designed book is clear, accessible and, as one would expect from the title, evidence-based . . . I think this is a great book that challenges clinicians and others working in health care to develop and adapt to a rapidly changing and demanding world. Can we do it with support from patients? The answer is in the book! - Family Practice, Vol 19, No 3 For further information, visit Oxford University Press website |   |
Decision Laboratory now on TwitterMay 2009 The Decision Laboratory team are now on Twitter. Share your thoughts on shared decision making in healthcare, decision support intervention work, health informatics and new ideas in research with the team…  |
