Ribanská, Daniela (2025) Shared Decision Making: Preferred and Actual Decision Making Style Among Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, and Specialized Nurses for Diagnostic and Treatment Decisions with Patients. thesis, Medicine.
Full text available on request.Abstract
Background: Shared decision making is a decision making style that can be highly beneficial for patients as it can increase their satisfaction with a decision and adherence to treatment. Shared decision making is preferred among physicians, however research shows their application of it in practice is insufficient, making it difficult for learners in healthcare to learn shared decision making from them. Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and specialized nurses also make decisions with patients, but little is known about their decision making preferences. Method: To elicit their preferences, we conducted a cross-sectional survey study of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and specialized nurses who make decisions with patients, in a large general teaching hospital in the Netherlands. Using the control preference scale and the SDM-Q-Doc questionnaires, we investigated what their preferred and actual decision making styles were (informative, shared decision making, or paternalistic), the reasons for their preferred style, and what barriers to applying their preferred style they encountered. Results: 86 participants completed the questionnaire. Most participants reported shared decision making as their preferred (63% n=54) and actual (53% n=46) decision making style, despite barriers such as patients’ perceived inability to participate in decision making. The respondents preferred shared decision making because it merged their expertise with the patients’ wishes, increased adherence to treatment, and was considered patient-oriented. Conclusion: As most nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and specialized nurses self-report preferring and using shared decision making, they could potentially be good role models for teaching shared decision making to learners in healthcare.
| Item Type: | Thesis (UNSPECIFIED) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Brand, Paul L.P. |
| Faculty: | Medical Sciences |
| Date Deposited: | 29 Apr 2026 12:29 |
| Last Modified: | 29 Apr 2026 12:29 |
| URI: | https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3936 |
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