Abstract

BackgroundShared decision-making in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) care is a priority among policy makers, clinicians and patients both nationally and internationally. Demands on patients to have basic knowledge of RA, treatment options, and details of risk and benefit when making medication decisions with clinicians can be overwhelming, especially for those with limited literacy or limited English language proficiency. The objective of this study is to describe the development of a medication choice decision aid for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in three languages using low literacy principles.MethodsBased on the development of a diabetes decision aid, the RA decision aid (RA Choice) was developed through a collaborative process involving patients, clinicians, designers, decision-aid and health literacy experts. A combination of evidence synthesis and direct observation of clinician-patient interactions generated content and guided an iterative process of prototype development.ResultsThree iterations of RA Choice were developed and field-tested before completion. The final tool organized data using icons and plain language for 12 RA medications across 5 issues: frequency of administration, time to onset, cost, side effects, and special considerations. The tool successfully created a conversation between clinician and patient, and garnered high acceptability from clinicians.ConclusionsThe process of collaboratively developing an RA decision aid designed to promote shared decision making resulted in a graphically-enhanced, low literacy tool. The use of RA Choice in the clinical encounter has the potential to enhance communication for RA patients, including those with limited health literacy and limited English language proficiency.

Highlights

  • Shared decision-making in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) care is a priority among policy makers, clinicians and patients both nationally and internationally

  • We have found that nearly one-third of adults with RA report suboptimal shared decision-making (SDM) communication

  • The disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) presented in the original AHRQ summary guide included anakinra which upon discussions with local rheumatologists was deemed to be used exceedingly rarely in the treatment of adult RA

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Summary

Introduction

Shared decision-making in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) care is a priority among policy makers, clinicians and patients both nationally and internationally. Demands on patients to have basic knowledge of RA, treatment options, and details of risk and benefit when making medication decisions with clinicians can be overwhelming, especially for those with limited literacy or limited English language proficiency. Significant advances have been made in treatment options and strategies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), one of the most common forms of inflammatory arthritis. These advances have shifted the goal of therapy from symptom relief to sustained remission. Patients with lower education, limited health literacy, lower trust in physician and limited English language proficiency are more likely to report suboptimal SDM [6]

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