Background: Generally, 10% and up to 83% of all cancer patients will experience disease-related malnutrition, of which head and neck cancer and upper GI are the two types, where disease-related malnutrition occurs most frequently. Disease-related malnutrition increases the risk of hospitalization, decreased physical activity, increased morbidity, and generally poor prognosis. Decision aids seek to support patients in the shared decision making about treatment with health care professionals, and to raise awareness of the positive effects of nutritional guidance, in preventing disease-related malnutrition.
Aim: This project aimed to illustrate how patients in NutriDia experienced the NutriDia app in the dialogue with the health care professionals to achieve shared decision making, and whether there is a basis for shared decision making in the existing meetings. The empirical data was used to identify potentials for change, that could optimize the prerequisites for shared decision making in the NutriDia project.
Method: Based on a hermeneutical approach, the problem posed in this project was answered by a case study consisting of a systematic literature review and four semi-structured individual interviews.
Result: The patients in NutriDia did not use all the modules in the decision aid, which could be due to a lack of understanding of the interaction between the modules in the decision aid. Further, there was a variation in how often and how much patients registered their data in the decision aid. The literature study found that decision aid helped the patients obtain shared decision making in the dialogue with the health care professionals. Overall, the patients in NutriDia did not experience the decision aid being used in the meetings with the health care professionals, which could be due to a lack of the cross-platform interface, which was caused by a delay in the development process of the decision aid.
Conclusion: Based on the individual interviews, there was found a basis for shared decision making in the existing meetings. Furthermore, three potentials for change were identified to optimize the prerequisites for shared decision making in the NutriDia project: Ensure a basic understanding of the interaction between the various modules of the NutriDia app; Guidance and recommendations for data entry in the NutriDia app; a broader use of the data reported in the NutriDia app in the dialogue between health care professionals and patients.