Short summary

This study is one of three national projects with the mutual goal of "choosing together" in clinical decision making. It high lights shared decision making and aims to facilitate and support a shift of paradigms and implementation of shared decision making in the clinical practice.  

Rationale

Each year approximately 500 Danish women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and at the

time of diagnosis most of the women have advanced disease. Primary treatment consists of surgery and chemotherapy but despite this, a large number of the women experience relapse and undergo new chemotherapy and possible surgery. A number of unanswered questions occur and choosing the right treatment is very complex for this group of women who are going through very intense treatment with poor prospects of recovery.

The overall purpose of the project is to facilitate and support a paradigm shift within shared

decision making between clinicians and the gynecological cancer patient. The project aims to contribute to and evaluate a wide clinical implementation of shared decision making. As a first task within the implementation process and clinical integration we will develop, evaluate and implement a decision aid for women with relapse of ovarian cancer. The decision aid will facilitate shared decision making related to treatment planning of the ovarian cancer patient with relapse.

The decision aid is part of a Shared Decision Making package, which will support the paradigm shift and the implementation of shared decision making in clinical practice. The package concept is developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and defines interventions, targets and indicators for both result and process. The entire package is easy to adjust and implement in other local settings with other cancer patients.

The project is a collaboration between the Danish Gynecological Cancer Group (DGCG),

Aarhus University Hospital, Odense University Hospital and Center for Shared Decision

Making at Vejle Hospital. The development and tests of the decision aid in this project will take place at Aarhus, Odense and Vejle Hospitals, where the decision aid will be tested by both patients and clinicians. This wide test environment at three different clinical settings will enable national dissemination of the package and ensure a uniform treatment of all Danish ovarian cancer patients.

Description of the cohort

We include women with a relapse of ovarian cancer who have to choose between different possible treatment options.

Data and biological material

Demografic data on patients and doctors.

Interviews will be used in developing and testing the decision aid.

Validated questionnaires will be used for assesing patients and doctors experience with shared decision making

Observations of consultations will be performed to assess whether shared decision making occur in the consultation 

Collaborating researchers and departments

Centre for Shared Decision Making, Lillebaelt Hospital

• Professor, PhD, Senior Consultant, Director of Centre for Shared Decision Making, Karina Dahl Steffensen

Department of Oncology, Odense University Hospital

• MD Consultant, Anja Oer Knudsen

Gynecological Cancer Surgery, Odense University Hospital

• Professor, PhD, Senior Consultant and Team Leader Pernille Tine Jensen

Department of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital

• MD Consultant, Mette Hae

Department of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital

• Senior Consultant, PhD, Lars Fokdal

Publications associated with the project

Abstract accepted for Danish Cancer Research Days; "Shared decision making in care for the gynecologic cancer patient "; Steffensen KD, Fokdal LU, Oer Knudsen A, Vestergaard Madsen C, Jensen PT, Lundvall L, Olling K, Lemley B, Blou D, Büchmann H, Haee M