Cultural influences on shared decision-making among Asian Americans: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies

Abstract

ObjectiveTo summarize how Asian Americans negotiate involvement in shared decision-making (SDM) with their providers, the cultural influences on SDM, and perceived barriers and facilitators to SDM. MethodsThis is a systematic review of qualitative studies. We searched six electronic databases and sources of gray literature until March 2021. Two reviewers independently screened studies, performed quality appraisal, and data extraction. Meta-synthesis was performed to summarize themes using a three-step approach. ResultsTwenty studies with 675 participants were included. We abstracted 275 initial codes and grouped these into 19 subthemes and 4 major themes: (1) negotiating power and differing expectations in SDM; (2) cultural influences on SDM; (3) importance of social support in SDM; and (4) supportive factors for facilitating SDM. ConclusionsAsian Americans have important perspectives, needs, and preferences regarding SDM that impacts how they engage with the provider on medical decisions and their perception of the quality of their care. Practice implicationsAsian American patients valued good communication and sufficient time with their provider, and that it is important for health professionals to understand patients’ desired level of involvement in the SDM process and in the final decision, and who should be involved in SDM beyond the patient. OtherThis systematic review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021241665).