Patient decision-making behavior: an emerging paradigm for nursing science.
BACKGROUND
As healthcare technology and medical therapies proliferate, healthcare providers have more options to offer and patients have more options from which to choose. Active patient participation in healthcare decision making is a relatively new phenomenon that has been born of sociocultural, ethical, and legal influences. Patients, however, often find healthcare decisions bewildering, stressful, and anxiety-provoking.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this review is to provide a framework for those interested in pursuing patient decision-making investigations and suggest ways in which current knowledge can be extended to develop a scientific platform upon which to build decision support interventions.


METHODS
Literature review.


CONCLUSIONS
This review (a) provides a context for understanding patient decision making; (b) explicates the state of the science of patient decision making; (c) identifies significant theoretical, methodological, and measurement issues; and, (d) identifies gaps in patient decision-making knowledge and propose areas for further investigation.
Pierce
P F
PF
School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109-0482, USA.
Hicks
F D
FD
D003657:Decision Making; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D005544:Forecasting; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D016294:Models, Nursing; D008960:Models, Psychological; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009729:Nursing / Q000639:trends*; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D009742:Nursing Theory; D010358:Patient Participation; D011340:Problem Solving; D012307:Risk Factors; D012586:Science / Q000639:trends; D013997:Time Factors