Authors' objectives:

1. To provide an unbiased bibliography of controlled studies evaluating interventions that may affect informed patient decision making.

2. To classify studies by research design, decision-making theory, type of intervention and health setting.

3. To describe the measures of informed patient decision making and other outcomes reported.

4. To identify under-reported areas and direct future research.

Authors' recommendations: Only five studies were theory driven, assessed measures associated with informed decision making, and used a low risk of bias design. Although of disparate design these five studies suggest that information and education are relatively ineffective ways of facilitating informed decision making, compared with the context and social influences. Studies reporting manipulation of information, and provision of feedback, were the most likely to report an effect. There is a paucity of well-designed, theoretically driven and adequately operationalised research assessing informed patient decision making. Given the small number of high-quality studies and the relatively slow increase in research in this area there is no need for the NHS to revisit this topic as a review for 5 years. Resources should be concentrated on better primary research.

Authors' methods: Systematic review

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: http://www.hta.ac.uk/973

Year Published: 1999

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: England, United Kingdom

Organisation Name: NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme

Contact Address: NIHR Journals Library, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre, Alpha House, University of Southampton Science Park, Southampton SO16 7NS, UK

Contact Name: journals.library@nihr.ac.uk

Contact Email: journals.library@nihr.ac.uk

Copyright: 1999 Queen's Printer and Controller of HMSO