Grant: Project Grant

Since 2000 our research team has created and tested decision aids and developed international standards. Decision aids are knowledge translation (KT) tools to help people make informed decisions that reflect what matters most to them. Decision aids (leaflets, videos, online tools) focus on a specific decision, provide information on options (benefits/harms), and help patients clarify what is most important to them. Our systematic review of 105 randomized trials showed decision aids compared to usual care improve knowledge, reduce decisional conflict, and increase patient involvement in decision making. But little is known about the effect of elements included in decision aids (e.g., patient stories, exercises to clarify values). There are over 100 new randomized trials that need to be added to update our last systematic review in 2017. We propose to study how well decision aids work compared to usual care and what elements of decision aids are most effective. These findings will be used to update the international standards and reach consensus on changes. We will conduct the study using an integrated KT approach with researchers and knowledge users on our international team. Knowledge users include patients, clinicians, and policy makers. We will use a systematic review of randomized trials and consensus methods to report on criteria to improve the quality of decision aids and avoid biased decisions. We will also evaluate the experience of team members with the integrated KT approach. Our output will report evidence on the effect of decision aids for people who are facing health decisions, how well each element within decision aids works, and consensus on updated standards. We will report the findings to researchers and knowledge users in Canada and internationally to inform health care services and health policies. Our study fits with CIHR's strategic plan priority: integrating evidence in health decisions by advancing the science of knowledge mobilization.