Martina wanted to improve the shared decision-making process in the cardiology department at Amsterdam UMC by creating a booklet on life-prolonging treatments for patients with advanced heart failure.
Shared decision making is a process in which healthcare professionals and patients decide together on the course of treatment. However, several barriers to implementing shared decision making for patients with advanced heart failure have been identified, including lack of clarity, uncertainty, lack of training and lack of time. This thesis focuses on improving the shared decision making process in the cardiology department of the UMC Amsterdam.
Martina started by researching advanced heart failure and the principles of shared decision making. The cardiology department of Amsterdam UMC was observed, which resulted in the ‘shared decision-making journey’ and 9 different stages of the journey. This journey defined the design goal and the interaction vision of the project.
The booklet ‘Deciding with heart’ was created to support communication between healthcare providers and patients in the shared decision-making process. It provides information about life-prolonging treatments for patients with advanced heart failure and encourages them to express their values and preferences. Patients should receive the booklet during their consultation with a cardiologist, nurse or heart failure nurse. The shared decision-making process can be enhanced by giving the booklet before stopping curative treatment to enable the patient to make a choice about treatment using shared decision-making principles.
