Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Jan-Feb;26(1):100382.
doi: 10.1016/j.bjpt.2021.100382. Epub 2022 Jan 1.

Shared decision making and physical therapy: What, when, how, and why?

Tammy Hoffmann  1 , Mina Bakhit  2 , Zoe Michaleff  2
Affiliations
Review

Shared decision making and physical therapy: What, when, how, and why?

Tammy Hoffmann et al. Braz J Phys Ther. 2022 Jan-Feb.

Abstract

Background: Shared decision making is a means of translating evidence into practice and facilitating patient-centred care by helping patients to become more active in the decision-making process. Shared decision making is a collaborative process that involves patients and clinicians making health-related decisions after discussing the available options; the benefits and harms of each option; and considering the patient's values, preferences, and personal circumstances.

Methods: This paper describes what shared decision making is, why it is important, when it is appropriate, and key elements. We report on physical therapists' current use of and attitudes to shared decision making and explore factors that influence its uptake. Lastly, we examine what is needed to promote greater use of this approach.

Results: Key elements in the shared decision making process are: identifying the problem that requires a decision; providing an explanation of the health problem, including, where appropriate, the natural history of the condition; discussing the available options and the potential benefits and harms of each option; eliciting the patient's values, preferences, and expectations; and assisting the patient to weigh up the options to reach an informed decision. When applied in practice, shared decision making has been found to improve patient-clinician communication; improve patients' accuracy of their expectations of intervention benefits and harms, involvement in decision-making, and feeling of being informed; and increase both patients' and clinicians' satisfaction with care.

Conclusion: Despite physical therapists' enthusiasm for shared decision making, uptake of this approach has been slow. Multi-level strategies and behaviour change are required to encourage and support the sustainable incorporation of shared decision making in practice.

Keywords: Patient satisfaction; Patient-centred care; Physical therapy; Shared decision making.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig. 1
Key elements in the shared decision making process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Hoffmann T.C., Légaré F., Simmons M.B., et al. Shared decision making: what do clinicians need to know and why should they bother? Med J Austral. 2014;201(1):35–39. doi: 10.5694/mja14.00002. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hoffmann T.C., Lewis J., Maher C.G. Shared decision making should be an integral part of physiotherapy practice. Physiotherapy. 2020;107:43–49. doi: 10.1016/j.physio.2019.08.012. 2020/06/01/ - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hoffmann T., Bennett S., Del Mar C. 3rd ed. Elsevier; 2017. Evidence-Based Practice Across the Health Professions.
    1. Coulter A. Bertelsmann Stiftung; 2018. National Strategies For Implementing Shared Decision Making.
    1. Légaré F., Witteman H.O. Shared decision making: examining key elements and barriers to adoption into routine clinical practice. Health Aff (Millwood) 2013;32(2):276–284. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2012.1078. - DOI - PubMed