Prenatal screening for Down syndrome: a survey of willingness in women and family physicians to engage in shared decision-making.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the willingness of women and their family physicians (FPs) to engage in shared decision-making (SDM) as regards prenatal Down-syndrome screening and the factors that might influence their willingness to do so.


METHODS
We conducted a survey of participants in Québec City, Canada, using the theory of planned behavior. We used a general linear model and multilevel approach that took the fact that some women consulted the same FP into account.


RESULTS
This study comprised 109 pregnant women and 41 FPs. On a scale of - 3 to + 3, the pregnant women's and FPs' response scores were, respectively, 2.11 ± 1.38 and 2.66 ± 0.40. In women, attitude, significant others, self-efficacy, perceived moral correctness, and their FP's attitude influenced their willingness to engage in SDM. However, women without a post-secondary education were less likely to engage in SDM than women with a post-secondary education, mostly because the former lacked a sense of self-efficacy. In FPs, only attitude and significant others influenced their willingness to engage in SDM.


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, the women and their FPs wished to engage in SDM as regards prenatal Down-syndrome screening. Only a few factors influenced this desire which therefore may be modifiable.
Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, Québec City, Canada. france.legare@mfa.ulaval.ca
France
F
Légaré
Sylvie
S
St-Jacques
Susie
S
Gagnon
Merlin
M
Njoya
Michel
M
Brisson
Pierre
P
Frémont
François
F
Rousseau
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D001290:Attitude; D003625:Data Collection; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014836:Volition / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult