The role of nurses in shared decision-making about caring for older adults with chronic disease: A qualitative descriptive study

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this study is to explore nurses’ perception of their roles in shared decision-making about caring for older adults with chronic disease. Methods: This study was a qualitative descriptive study. Ten nurses participated in the focus group interviews. The collected data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis to explore nurses’ roles in shared decision-making about care for older adults with chronic disease. Results: The shared decision-making experiences about caring for older adults with chronic disease of nurses yielded four main themes and ten categories including ‘facilitating involvement in decision-making’, ‘providing information for decision-making’, ‘respecting patient values and preferences’, ‘evaluating the outcome of decision-making’. Conclusion: This study explored the roles of nurses in shared decision-making about caring of older adults with chronic disease. Nurses can enhance the shared decision-making process by identifying the decision needs and by facilitating decision-making.