Factors related to participation decision-making in emergency surgery patients

Abstract

Abstract Background Patient’s shared decision-making (SDM) is an ethical standard for respecting patient autonomy.Objectives This study aimed to investigate the level of shared decision-making (SDM) for emergency surgery and its related factors in hospitals affiliated with the Zanjan University of Medical Sciences (Iran).Methods The study has a cross-sectional design. The study was performed on 306 patients candidates for emergency surgery in 2020. The research instruments included a 9-item Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire (SDM-Q-9) and an SDM-related factors questionnaire for surgery.Results The results showed that more than 50% of patients did not participate in the choice of emergency surgery. Among the related factors, the SDM level of the family members, the patient's marital status, and systolic blood pressure were the main predictors of the patient’s SDM for surgery (P-value < 0.05).Conclusions The emergency conditions of patients and the high workload of staff reduced participation in the decision-making of patients and their family members.