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. 2020 Nov;103(11):2328-2334.
doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2020.04.032. Epub 2020 May 5.

Incorporating shared decision making into communication with older adults with cancer and their caregivers: Development and evaluation of a geriatric shared decision-making communication skills training module

Megan Johnson Shen  1 , Ruth Manna  2 , Smita C Banerjee  3 , Christian J Nelson  3 , Koshy Alexander  2 , Yesne Alici  3 , Natalie Gangai  2 , Patricia A Parker  3 , Beatriz Korc-Grodzicki  2
Affiliations

Incorporating shared decision making into communication with older adults with cancer and their caregivers: Development and evaluation of a geriatric shared decision-making communication skills training module

Megan Johnson Shen et al. Patient Educ Couns. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a Communication Skills Training (CST) module for health care providers (HCPs) applying a shared decision-making approach to a meeting with an older adult with cancer and his/her family.

Methods: Ninety-nine HCPs from community-based centers, cancer centers, and hospitals in the Northeastern U.S. who worked primarily with older adult patients participated in a CST module entitled Geriatric Shared Decision Making. Participants completed pre- and post-training Standardized Patient Assessments (SPAs) and a survey on their confidence in and intent to utilize skills taught.

Results: Results indicated high HCP satisfaction with the module, with over 95 % of participants reporting high endorsement to all five evaluation items. HCPs' self-efficacy in utilizing communication skills related to geriatric shared decision making significantly increased pre- to post-training. In standardized patient assessments among a subset of providers (n = 30), HCPs demonstrated improvements in three shared decision-making skills: declare agenda, invite agenda, and check preference.

Conclusion: A geriatric shared decision-making CST workshop for HCPs showed feasibility, acceptability, and improvement in self-efficacy as well as skill uptake.

Practice implications: This Geriatric Shared Decision-Making CST module provides an intervention for improving provider-patient-family member communication in the context of cancer care for older adults.

Keywords: Cancer; Communication; Geriatric; Geriatric oncology; Older adult; Shared decision making.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest

No authors have conflicts of interest in the present manuscript or study.

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