title: Patient involvement in decision-making in surgical and orthopaedic practice. Effects of outcome of operation and care process on patients' perception of their involvement in the decision-making process.
abstract: As part of the project Perioperative Risk,--an epidemiological study of complications associated with surgical and orthopaedic operations--the article reports a study of patients' perception of their involvement in decision-making in medical consultations, and how the outcomes of surgery and subsequent care determine patients' evaluation of the treatment. Patients' view of their involvement in the decision-making process was obtained before as well as after surgery. The results reveal that the more satisfied the patients were with the outcome of the operation, and the post-operative situation, the more they were inclined to assume responsibility for the decision to have surgery. The opposite response pattern, indicating a negative evaluation of either the operation or the post-operative care, resulted in an outcome where patients described others--especially the physician--as being responsible for the decision to have surgery. The results suggest that patients' evaluations of surgery are based upon a more global reaction to what happened during the entire care process. Dissatisfaction with either the operation or the post-operative care leads to a negative outcome in terms of patients' perceptions of their own involvement. This emphasizes the importance of all health care professionals seeing themselves as a team with complementary responsibilities for success in health care.
authors.forename: U S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Larsson
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Svärdsudd
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wedel
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Säljö
mesh_terms: D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009985:Orthopedics / Q000592:standards*; D010358:Patient Participation; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D016896:Treatment Outcome