The Effect of Review of a Decision Aid Prior to the Appointment on Decisional Conflict Compared to Usual Care in the Treatment of Trapeziometacarpal (TMC) Arthritis

Decision aids (shared decision making tools-websites, videos, or pamphlets) are interventions to prepare patients to make more informed decisions and satisfying decisions that match their preferences and values. With greater understanding of the risks and benefits of the treatment options patients may make a more informed choice. Decision aids - delivered online, on paper, or on video - increase patient participation in the decision-making process,1 and can result in a decrease in discretionary surgery for knee osteoarthritis, herniated disk, and benign prostatic hypertrophy.2-4 They also reduce decisional conflict. Relatively few studies have investigated the influence of decision aids in orthopedic or hand surgery. Decision aids might affect decisional conflict, satisfaction, and outcomes in hand surgery where many treatments are discretionary and address quality of life. Utilizing the Ottawa Decision Support Framework- an evidence-based, practical theory used to guide the development of decision aids - and the International Patient Decision Aid Standards criteria the investigators developed a decision aid for trapeziometacarpal arthritis.