Exec Summary Vol. UK Background Everyone makes decisions about their health, and many healthcare interventions aim to encourage this. An informed decision is one where a reasoned choice is made by a reasonable individual using relevant information about the advantages and disadvantages of all the possible courses of action, in accord with the individual's beliefs.
Objectives is a bullet.
To classify studies by research design, decision-making theory, type of intervention and health setting. To describe the measures of informed patient decision making and other outcomes reported. To identify under-reported areas and direct future research. The journals Medical Decision Making, Patient Education and Counseling , and Preventive Medicine were handsearched for 1986-96. Inclusion criteria Studies were included if they reported the results of a controlled study of any intervention using real patients making a health decision.