PMU125 - EVALUATING THE INFLUENCE OF SHARED DECISION-MAKING ON PATIENTS' HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (HRQOL) IN THE GENERAL-OUTPATIENT CLINIC IN HONG KONG SAR, CHINA

Abstract

To investigate the relationship between shared decision-making and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients in general out-patient clinic (GOPC) in Hong Kong SAR, China. As part of the survey to evaluate patient engagement, two items were set to assess the level of patient-professional shared decision-making. The first one was focused on whether the professional fully support patients to do the decision. The other item was whether patients are offered all the possible choices before making decisions. A visual analogue scale (VAS) with a given score of 0 to 10 was used to measure the patients’ attitude on these two items. Additionally, for assessing the HRQoL, the validated EQ-5D-5L (Hong Kong version) was used. All the qualified patients visited the GOPC were invited to participate the survey. Data were analysed using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model to explore the potential correlations. Totally, 686 patients (56%) successfully completed the survey. The average age of the respondents was 49.4. 86% of them received secondary or above education, 71.7% of them reported live with at least one kind of chronic conditions. The mean score of the "support” item was 5.96 (SD=1.97). Younger (b=0.68, p<0.01) or highly educated (b = 0.88, p<0.01) respondents scored higher than other population. For the item of "choice", the mean score was 5.84, standard deviation was 2.06. No statistically significant comparisons among any demographic groups were found. The result of liner regression indicated that there is a minor positive relationship between HRQoL and both items of "support” (b= 0.005, p<0.05) and "choice” (b=0.006, p<0.01). Improving HRQoL should be the core of good clinical practice. Our results indicated that medical professionals offered patients as many as possible choices and fully support them to make decisions about their health could contribute to a better HRQoL in GOPC.