Partnerships to Improve Shared Decision Making for Patients with Hypertension: Health Equity Implications

Abstract

Shared decision making (SDM) has increas­ingly become appreciated as a method to enhance patient involvement in health care decisions, patient-provider communication, and patient-centered care. Compared with cancer, the literature on SDM for hyperten­sion is more limited. This is notable because hypertension is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease and both conditions disproportionately affect certain subgroups of patients. However, SDM holds prom­ise for improving health equity by better engaging patients in their health care. For example, many reasonable options exist for treating uncomplicated stage-1 hyperten­sion. These options include medication and/ or lifestyle changes such as healthy eating, physical activity, and weight management. Deciding on “the best” plan of action for hypertension management can be challeng­ing because patients have different goals and preferences for treatment. As hyper­tension management may be considered a preference-sensitive decision, adherence to treatment plans may be greater if those plans are concordant with patient prefer­ences. SDM can be implemented in a broad array of care contexts, from patient-provider dyads to interprofessional collaborations. In this article, we argue that SDM has the potential to advance health equity and improve clinical care. We also propose a process to evaluate whether SDM has occurred and suggest future directions for research.Ethn Dis. 2019;29(Suppl 1):97- 102; doi:10.18865/ed.29.S1.97.