Cultural challenges to engaging patients in shared decision making.
Sarah T Hawley, Arden M Morris
PMID 27461943WHAT IT FOUND
This essay argues that cultural background shapes how patients engage in cancer decisions.
It notes minority patients often report lower satisfaction and higher regret, and may prefer clinicians to make the choice. It recommends tailoring communication and involving family, but offers no tested interventions.
Key findings
01Racial and ethnic minority patients often report lower satisfaction and higher regret regarding their cancer care decisions than white patients.
02Some minority patients prefer that clinicians make treatment decisions for them, rather than sharing the decision-making role.
03Involving family and community support systems is identified as a key strategy for engaging diverse patients in healthcare decisions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is an opinion essay and theoretical framework, not primary research. It does not provide data on patient outcomes or the effectiveness of any specific communication strategy. The recommendations are broad concepts (e.g., 'improve responsiveness', 'engage stakeholders') without defined methods or evidence of success. It relies on race and ethnicity as proxies for culture, which the authors acknowledge is an imperfect measure.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat the recommendations in this essay as evidence-based clinical protocols. The paper describes barriers and suggests general approaches, but it does not test whether these approaches improve patient outcomes or decision satisfaction.