Table 1.
Effect of decision aids on patient’s knowledge of options and outcomes
| Decision | Decision aid
|
Comparison group
|
Weight | Mean difference (95% CI) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No of patients | Mean (SD) knowledge score | No of patients | Mean (SD) knowledge score | ||||
| Compared with usual care | |||||||
| Benign prostate disease15 | 104 | 75 (45) | 123 | 54 (45) | 14.1 | 21 (9 to 33) | |
| Ischaemic heart disease25 | 86 | 75 (17) | 94 | 62 (17) | 29.4 | 13 (8 to 18) | |
| Ischaemic heart disease16 | 61 | 83 (16) | 48 | 58 (16) | 26.4 | 25 (19 to 31) | |
| BRCA1 gene test22 | 122 | 69 (19) | 164 | 49 (21.7) | 30.1 | 20 (15 to 25) | |
| Total (random effects χ2=9.6 (df =3), Z=6.85) | 373 | 429 | 100 | 19 (14 to 25) | |||
| Compared with less intensive decision aid | |||||||
| Hormone therapy28 | 83 | 87 (11) | 87 | 84 (12) | 47.4 | 3 (−0.4 to 6) | |
| Hormone therapy26 | 81 | 75 (20) | 84 | 71 (21) | 14.3 | 4 (−2 to 10) | |
| Prenatal screen24 | 67 | 88 (15) | 88 | 87 (16) | 24.7 | 0.9 (−4 to 6) | |
| Mastectomy29 | 30 | 83 (12) | 30 | 76 (14) | 13.5 | 6 (−0.3 to 13) | |
| Total (fixed effects χ2=1.8 (df =3), Z=2.54) | 261 | 289 | 100 | 3 (0.7 to 5) | |||
Knowledge tests regarding options and outcomes were specific to the decision and were scored from 0 (0% items correct) to 100 (100% items correct).