title: Desired Involvement in Treatment Decisions Among Adults with PTSD Symptoms.
abstract: Most medical patients want to be involved in decisions about their care. Whether this is true for people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)-a disorder characterized by avoidance of trauma-related discussions-is unknown. We conducted an online survey assessing preferences for involvement in PTSD treatment decisions (level of control, timing) and information about PTSD treatment (content, format). Adults who screened positive for possible PTSD (N = 301) were recruited from a large online survey panel representative of the U. S.
  
  
  
  Virtually all respondents (97.3%) desired involvement in treatment decisions; two thirds (67.8%) wanted primary responsibility for decisions. Most (64.2%) wanted 30-60 minutes to learn about treatments and 80.1% wanted at least 1-3 days to consider their options. Respondents expressed more interest in informational content on treatment effectiveness and side effects than any other topic. In-person discussion with a provider was preferred more than other learning formats (e.g., websites, brochures). Results suggested that people with symptoms of PTSD want involvement in decisions about their treatment and want to discuss treatment options with their provider. Providers may wish to prioritize information about effectiveness and side effects, and should expect that many patients will need several days after their visit to make a decision.
authors.affiliation: National Center for PTSD, White River Junction, Vermont, USA.|Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
authors.forename: Juliette M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Harik
authors.affiliation: Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, Texas, USA.|Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.|Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety (IQuESt), Houston, Texas, USA.
authors.forename: Natalie E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Hundt
authors.affiliation: National Center for PTSD, White River Junction, Vermont, USA.|Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
authors.forename: Nancy C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Bernardy
authors.affiliation: National Center for PTSD, White River Junction, Vermont, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.|VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California, USA.
authors.forename: Sonya B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Norman
authors.affiliation: National Center for PTSD, White River Junction, Vermont, USA.|Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hamblen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000523:psychology*; D057240:Patient Preference / Q000523:psychology*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome