ABSTRACT:
Several treatments are available for patients with breast cancer (BC). Decision aids (DAs) are interventions that provide patients with information about available therapies, clarifying the congruence between decisions and personal values, and fostering shared decision-making (SDM), which is known to increase quality of care.
In this context, the ShareView project, short for “Supporting shared decision-making and communication in metastatic breast cancer” investigated communication approaches and shared decision-making practices across Europe as ways to improve the quality of care of breast cancer patients.
The project was sponsored by Pfizer Global Medical Grants and the ONG Sharing Progress in Cancer Care (SPCC), and was coordinated by SDA Bocconi and involved an international consortium of partners, namely the Belgian International Drug Development Institute, the Portuguese Champalimaud Foundation, the University Hospital of Udine and the association Europa Donna Italia.
The project had a twofold aim:
- To investigate the diffusion of DAs in BC centers in Europe through a cross-sectional, cross-country survey, including perceived barriers and facilitators;
- To pilot the prototype of a web-based DA for BC patients, the Net Treatment Benefit application, developed by IDDI.
The study findings suggest an insufficient availability of DAs in BC centers in Europe, mainly represented by paper-based tools rather than digital instruments, typically described in the literature. While future work needs to clarify the factors influencing the sustained implementation of DAs at the organizational level, this study sheds light on the current integration of DAs in BC care in Europe, explores developmental factors of a new web-based DA tool, and raises awareness on the importance of integrating SDM principles when communicating with patients.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Vigorous interest in shared decision-making and decision aids in breast cancer care emerged at the European level.
- Availability of decision aids seems to translate into actual use.
- Interactive, web-based decision aids receive considerable interest in the literature, but paper-based tools remain the most used in practice.
- Patient views of shared decision-making tools are highly valuable, and remark their willingness to being actively involved in treatment-related decisions.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
- Healthcare professionals (e.g., medical oncologists, surgeons)
- Cancer patient representatives
- Academics in the field of digital health
SPEAKERS:
