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Shared decision-making when choosing the feeding method of patients with severe dementia: a systematic review

Abstract

Objectives:

To evaluate whether the use of a support tool for shared decision-making in the choice of feeding method for patients with severe dementia can benefit the patient/caregiver dyad, and to evaluate the quality of the decision-making process.

Method:

A search was performed in the Medline, LILACS, IBECS, SciELO, WHOLIS databases for randomized controlled trials, whether double-blind or otherwise, and quasi-experimental, cohort, case-control, or cross-sectional observational studies in Portuguese, Spanish, English and French.

Results:

Eight articles were found that showed that the use of a decision support tool, as an aid for the shared decision-making method, is beneficial as it reduces decisional conflict and increases the knowledge of caregivers about the subject. The quality of the decision-making process is unsatisfactory due to the low frequency of discussions between caregivers and the health team and the poor evaluation of caregivers about the participation of the team in the decision-making process.

Conclusion:

Decision support tools provide benefits for caregivers/patients undergoing the difficult task of deciding about feeding methods. Findings suggest that the current quality of decision-making is inadequate.

Keywords:
Dementia; Deglutition Disorders; Decision Making; Decision Support Techniques.

Resumo

Objetivos:

Avaliar se o uso de instrumento de apoio para decisão compartilhada na escolha da via de alimentação em pacientes com demência em estágio grave traz benefício para a díade paciente/cuidador e avaliar a qualidade do processo decisório.

Método:

Busca nas bases de dados Medline, LILACS, IBECS, SciELO, WHOLIS por ensaios clínicos randomizados duplo cegos ou não, estudos quase-experimentais, observacionais de coorte, caso-controle ou transversais nos idiomas português, espanhol, inglês e francês.

Resultados:

Obtidos oito artigos que mostraram que o uso de apoio à decisão como método auxiliar de decisão compartilhada traz benefício, pois reduz o conflito decisional e aumenta o conhecimento dos cuidadores sobre o assunto. A qualidade do processo decisório é insatisfatória devido à baixa frequência das conversas entre cuidadores e equipe de saúde e a má avaliação dos cuidadores sobre a participação da equipe no processo decisório

Conclusão:

O instrumento de apoio à decisão compartilhada traz benefícios para cuidadores/pacientes submetidos à difícil tarefa de decidir a via de alimentação. Os achados sugerem que a atual qualidade do processo decisório é inadequada.

Palavras-chave:
Demência; Transtornos de Deglutição; Tomada de Decisões; Técnicas de Apoio para a Decisão.

INTRODUCTION

Dementia is important in the context of population aging due to its impact on the mental and physical health of patients and their relatives. Regardless of type (such as Alzheimer's, vascular or frontotemporal), the course of the condition is always progressive and incurable, and the advanced stages are very similar: the patient is restricted to bed with little or no verbal communication, is unable to recognize their closest relatives, incontinent, has feeding difficulties and requires care when taking care of themselves11 Mitchell SL. Advanced Dementia. N Engl J Med [Internet]. 2015 [acesso em 22 ago. 2017];373(13):1276-7. Disponível em: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMcp1412652
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJ...

2 Gillick MR. Rethinking the role of tube feeding in patients with advanced dementia. N Engl J Med [Internet]. 2000 [acesso em 23 ago. 2017];342(3):206-10. Disponível em: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM20000120342031
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJ...
-33 Schmidt H, Eisenmann Y, Golla H, Voltz R, Perrar KM. Needs of people with advanced dementia in their final phase of life: a multi-perspective qualitative study in nursing homes. Palliat Med [Internet]. 2017 [acesso em 01 mar. 2018]:1-11. Disponível em: journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0269216317746571.

At this stage, feeding-related problems are common and include oral dysphagia, pharyngeal dysphagia (causing food aspiration) or the refusal of food, resulting weight loss and reduced food and fluid intake11 Mitchell SL. Advanced Dementia. N Engl J Med [Internet]. 2015 [acesso em 22 ago. 2017];373(13):1276-7. Disponível em: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMcp1412652
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJ...
. At this stage, there are two possible paths to follow: feeding and hydrating the patient through a tube or continuing to feed them orally with assistance.

Since 1997, when the first study44 Mitchell SL, Kiely DK, Lipsitz LA. The risk factors and impact on survival of feeding tube placement in nursing home residents with severe cognitive impairment. Arch Intern Med [Internet]. 1997 [acesso em 23 ago. 2017];157(3):327-32. Disponível em: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/622852?redirect=true
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaint...
compared the use of oral feeding in elderly institutionalized patients with recent progression to severe dementia using a prospective cohort sample and found no difference in survival, the discussion surrounding the feeding of these patients has become gradually more important.

The accumulation of information on the subject has subsequently led entities such as the American Geriatrics Society55 American Geriatrics Society Ethics Committee and Clinical Practice and Models of Care Committee. Feeding tubes in advanced dementia position statement. J Am Geriatr Soc [Internet]. 2014 [acesso em 02 mar. 2018];62(8):1590-93. Disponível em: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jgs.12924/full
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.11...
, the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine66 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Don’t recommend percutaneous feeding tubes in patients with advanced dementia; instead, offer oral assisted feeding. In: American Board of Internal Medicine. Choosing Wisely [Internet]. Philadelphia: ABIM, 2013- . [acesso em 18 fev. 2018]. Disponível em: http://www.choosingwisely.org/clinician-lists/american-academy-hospice-palliative-care-percutaneous-feeding-tubes-in-patients-with-dementia/
http://www.choosingwisely.org/clinician-...
to advise against the use of a tube for the feeding and hydration of patients with severe dementia. Choosing between the two paths remains difficult, however, since the act of feeding surpasses merely technical concepts. The need for decisions regarding health to be made by a caregiver for another person adds further complexity to the situation.

The scenario described is a prototypical situation for shared decision making. This can be understood as an approach where the health professional and the patient (or their representative), in order to carry out the decision-making process, share information regarding the best available scientific evidence. This assists the patient or caregiver when evaluating the available options, their respective risks and benefits and weighing them according to their values77 Elwyn G, Frosch D, Thomson R, Joseph-Williams N, Lloyd A, Kinnersley P, et al. Shared decision making: a model for clinical practice. J Gen Intern Med [Internet]. 2012 [acesso em 24 ago. 2017];27(10):1361-7. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3445676/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,88 Probst MA, Noseworthy PA, Brito JP, Hess EP. Shared decision-making as the future of emergency cardiology. Can J Cardiol [Internet]. 2018 [acesso em 27 fev. 2018];34(2):117-24. Disponível em: http://www.onlinecjc.ca/article/S0828-282X(17)31033-4/fulltext
http://www.onlinecjc.ca/article/S0828-28...
.

Shared decision making can be facilitated by what is known as a patient decision aid (PDA), translated into Portuguese as apoio à decisao. This instrument aims to serve as a reference in the process of counseling the patient or caregiver by presenting the available options in a balanced manner and guiding them in shared decision making in a specific health-related situation99 Stacey D, Legare F, Lewis K, Barry MJ, Bennett CL, Eden KB, et al. Decision aids for people facing health treatment or screening decisions. Cochrane Database Syst Rev [Internet]. 2017 [acesso em 25 ago. 2017];4:1-271. Disponível em: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001431.pub5/full
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.10...
,1010 Volk RJ, Llewellyn-Thomas H, Stacey D, Elwyn G. Ten years of the International Patient Decision Aid Standards Collaboration: evolution of the core dimensions for assessing the quality of patient decision aids. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak [Internet]. 2013 [acesso em 28 fev. 2018];13 Suppl 2:2-7. Disponível em: https://bmcmedinformdecismak.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6947-13-S2-S1
https://bmcmedinformdecismak.biomedcentr...
.

The present study aims to evaluate whether the use of a shared decision support instrument to choose the feeding method in patients with severe dementia brings benefit to the patient/caregiver dyad in terms of the outcomes (i) reduction of decisional conflict and (ii) increased caregiver knowledge on the topic. A secondary objective was to evaluate the quality of the decision sharing in this scenario, as measured by the frequency of family conversations with the health provider and by the evaluation of these discussions by the family.

METHOD

The PICO strategy (Population, Intervention, Comparator and Outcome) was used to search for the articles as follows: P- patient with severe dementia/caregiver of a patient with feeding problems in the imminence of deciding the method of feeding; I- shared decision-making using PDA; C- usual care or no shared decision strategy; O- decisional conflict, increased caregiver knowledge, frequency of conversations about feeding method options, evaluation of family members of the quality of the decision-making process.

The search was carried out on the Medline database via PubMed on August 24, 2017 using the following descriptors: ("shared decision making" or "decision aid") AND (“dementia” or “tube feeding" or "gastrostomy" or "hand feeding") limited to the English, Portuguese, Spanish and French languages. Another search was carried out in the LILACS, IBECS, SciELO, WHOLIS databases, via the Virtual Health Library (VHL) on August 30, 2017. The descriptors ("shared decision making" or "tomada de decisões" or "toma de decisiones" or "decision aid" or "técnicas de apoyo para la decisión" or "técnicas de apoio para a decisão") AND (“dementia” or “demência” or "tube feeding" or "nutrición enteral" or "nutrição enteral" or “gastrostomy” or “gastrostomía” or “gastrostomia”) were used. No date limits were applied to the searches.

The titles and abstracts of all the articles identified were read by the researcher who carried out the search and those selected were exported to the EndNote® X5.0.1 reference manager for more detailed analysis. The researcher also manually reviewed the bibliographic references of these studies in search of new studies.

The researcher who carried out the search was responsible for the selection of the studies and the references selected for full text reading were read by another researcher in order to ascertain the adequacy to the objectives of the systematic review. Divergences were resolved by consensus. Data extraction was performed without the use of a specific form for this purpose. Randomized or double-blind randomized controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-experimental, cohort, case-control, or cross-sectional studies were included. Narrative review, case reports or articles with a qualitative approach were excluded.

RESULTS

The database search resulted in 161 articles. After duplicates were removed, 156 articles remained. Of these 119 were discarded after reading the title and the abstract as they did not meet the inclusion criteria. The full texts of the 37 remaining references were examined in more detail. The analysis revealed that 30 studies did not meet the inclusion criteria. One article was added after reviewing the references of the articles included. The systematic review resulted in a total of eight studies, as shown in Figure 1. Five studies were conducted in the United States. Canada, Japan and Spain contributed one study each.

Figure 1
Flowchart for identification, selection and inclusion of studies. City of Santa Catarina, 2017.

Increase in knowledge and reduction in decisional conflict

The oldest study found that evaluated these outcomes was Mitchell et al.1111 Mitchell SL, Tetroe J, O'Connor AM. A Decision aid for long-term tube feeding in cognitively impaired older persons. J Am Geriatr Soc [Internet]. 2001 [acesso em 25 ago. 2017];49(3):313-6. Disponível em: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.4930313.x
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1532-5415.20...
. This described the preparation of a PDA for the choice of feeding method in patients with severe dementia. The study involved the application of a questionnaire to evaluate knowledge about the subject and to measure decisional conflict through the Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS)1212 O'Connor A. Validation of a decisional conflict scale. Med Decis Mak [Internet]. 1995 [acesso em 29 ago. 2017];15(1):25-30. Disponível em: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0272989X9501500105
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
before and after reading the PDA. It used a convenience sample of 15 caregivers who were in the decision process of the feeding method. The DCS score (1 to 5 points) was lower after exposure to the intervention: 2.88 (±0.62) vs 2.29 (±0.52), p=0.004. Caregivers also achieved a higher percentage of responses in knowledge after exposure to the PDA questionnaire: 50.4% (±13.5) vs 84.0% (±13.5), p=0.004, as shown in Chart 1. The study had a quasi-experimental design and a small sample.

Chart 1
Selected studies based on type of research, intervention/control, outcomes evaluated and results. City of Santa Catarina, 2017.

Kuraoka and Nakayma1313 Kuraoka Y, Nakayama K. A Decision aid regarding long-term tube feeding targeting substitute decision makers for cognitively impaired older persons in Japan: a small-scale before-and-after study. BMC Geriatr [Internet]. 2014 [acesso em 26 ago. 2017];14:2-7. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3922454/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
studied the same PDA, adapting the instrument to Japanese and their study. Thirteen inpatient caregivers in two hospitals in Japan deciding on a feeding method were interviewed before and after the use of the PDA. The percentage of correct answers in the questionnaire that evaluated knowledge on the subject increased from 38.1% (±13.5) to 64.6% (±25.9), p<0.001 and the score in the DCS declined from 3.24 ( 1.37) to 2.56 (±1.16), p<0.001. In addition to the small sample, the researchers provided the PDA to only five caregivers, with attending physicians distributing it to the other members of the sample. The study had a quasi-experimental design.

After ten years, this same instrument was improved and updated by Hanson et al.1414 Hanson LC, Carey TS, Caprio AJ, Lee TJ, Ersek M, Garrett J, et al. Improving decision-making for feeding options in advanced dementia: a randomized, controlled trial. J Am Geriatr Soc [Internet]. 2011 [acesso em 27 ago. 2017];59(11):2009-16. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3227016/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
and generated a PDA that was tested in an RCT. Twelve elderly long-term care facilities (LTCF) were randomly selected and caregivers received a PDA and were encouraged to discuss it with the health care team. Another 12 LTCF were randomly selected to receive normal care in the form of information from the health team. The primary outcome was the decisional conflict (measured by the DCS) of the caregiver after a three-month follow-up. The secondary outcomes were knowledge about dementia and feeding options, measured shortly after the use of the PDA by 19 true-false questions about the topic. One hundred and twenty-seven caregivers were in the intervention group and 129 received normal care. Those who received the intervention had a greater reduction in DCS score in three months (-1.97 vs -1.65, p<0.001) while after receiving the PDA caregivers increased their number of correct responses (15.1 vs 16.8, p<0.001). After three months, caregivers in the intervention group discussed feeding options more frequently (46% vs 33%, p=0.04). The study was a randomized clinical cluster trial. Due to the type of randomization and the nature of the intervention, the investigators and participants [(caregivers of patients with severe dementia with feeding problems) were not blinded. Residents of the LTCF who underwent the intervention had more problems with chewing and swallowing (91% vs 71%, p<0.001)].

Subsequent analysis of this same population was performed in an American study by Ersek et al.1515 Ersek M, Sefcik JS, Lin FC, Lee TJ, Gilliam R, Hanson LC. Provider staffing effect on a decision aid intervention. Clin Nurs Res [Internet]. 2014 [acesso em 27 ago. 2017];23(1):36-53. Disponível em: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1054773812470840
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
with the main objective of examining how the working hours of nurses and physicians influence the number of conversations about eating disorders between the health team and caregivers who used or did not use a PDA. A secondary objective was to assess the degree of decisional conflict. A total of 256 caregiver-patient pairs were identified and divided into two groups of LTCF (12 who received the intervention and 12 who received the usual care). The LTCF were placed in three distinct groups: those that did not have a nurse practitioner and an attending physician, those with such staff in a part-time role, and those who had them in a full-time capacity. A nurse practitioner is a nursing professional who is qualified to treat certain conditions without the direct supervision of a physician. Decision aid only increased the frequency of caregivers who talked about feeding options at the LTCF with part-time workers or those without a physician/assistant nurse (26% vs 51%, p<0.001 and 13% vs 41%, p<0.001, respectively). In LTCF with full-time workers, the PDA did not change the DCS score (reduction -0.15 control vs. -0.68 intervention, p=0.121). The use of the instrument resulted in a difference in this outcome in LTCF with part-time professionals (reduction -0.08 control vs -0.47 intervention, p=0.008) or those that lacked such staff (reduction -0.30 control vs -0.68 intervention, p=0.014). The Hanson et al.1414 Hanson LC, Carey TS, Caprio AJ, Lee TJ, Ersek M, Garrett J, et al. Improving decision-making for feeding options in advanced dementia: a randomized, controlled trial. J Am Geriatr Soc [Internet]. 2011 [acesso em 27 ago. 2017];59(11):2009-16. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3227016/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
study was a randomized clinical trial and data from telephone interviews was analyzed.

A study published by Snyder et al.1616 Snyder EA, Caprio AJ, Wessell K, Lin FC, Hanson LC. Impact of a decision aid on surrogate decision-makers' perceptions of feeding options for patients with dementia. J Am Med Dir Assoc [Internet]. 2013 [acesso em 28 ago. 2017];14(2):114-8. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3563876/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
also used the population studied by Hanson et al.1414 Hanson LC, Carey TS, Caprio AJ, Lee TJ, Ersek M, Garrett J, et al. Improving decision-making for feeding options in advanced dementia: a randomized, controlled trial. J Am Geriatr Soc [Internet]. 2011 [acesso em 27 ago. 2017];59(11):2009-16. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3227016/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
and the interviews performed before and after the administration of a PDA to 126 caregivers, together with a control group of 129 individuals. This study reported that decisional conflict was reduced (2.24 vs 1.91, p<0.001) shortly after the use of the PDA. There was an increase in the knowledge score (before 15.5 vs after 16.8, p<0.001). The study featured a quasi-experimental design.

Quality of the shared decision-making process when choosing the feeding method of patients with severe dementia

Five studies summarized in Table 1 contributed data. Hanson et al.1414 Hanson LC, Carey TS, Caprio AJ, Lee TJ, Ersek M, Garrett J, et al. Improving decision-making for feeding options in advanced dementia: a randomized, controlled trial. J Am Geriatr Soc [Internet]. 2011 [acesso em 27 ago. 2017];59(11):2009-16. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3227016/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
showed that after three months of PDA use, a higher percentage of caregivers in the intervention group discussed feeding options with physicians or nurses (46% vs 33%, p=0.04).

Teno et al.1717 Teno JM, Mitchell SL, Kuo SK, Gozalo PL, Rhodes RL, Lima JC, et al. Decision-making and outcomes of feeding tube insertion: a five-state study. J Am Geriatr Soc [Internet]. 2011 [acesso em 29 ago. 2017];59(5):881-6. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3254052/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
conducted a study with data from interviews with 486 caregivers of people with dementia and feeding problems who had died in an LTCF. One of the objectives of the study was to evaluate how frequently tube feeding was discussed. For 58.9% of the interviewees, there was no discussion about the management of feeding problems between family members and the health team. Among patients who underwent tube feeding, 13.7% of caregivers reported that they did not discuss the issue with the health team before insertion. Of these, 91.1% believed that the discussion should have taken place. Among those who had had some type of conversation, 41.6% reported that the discussion lasted less than 15 minutes. The option of assisted oral feeding was not discussed in approximately one third of cases and the doctor was present in the conversations one third of the time. The interviews were conducted by telephone and took place an average of 23.8 months after the patient's death. A cross-sectional method was applied.

The study by Ersek et al.1515 Ersek M, Sefcik JS, Lin FC, Lee TJ, Gilliam R, Hanson LC. Provider staffing effect on a decision aid intervention. Clin Nurs Res [Internet]. 2014 [acesso em 27 ago. 2017];23(1):36-53. Disponível em: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1054773812470840
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
describes that in LTCF with full-time attending physicians or nurses, the number of caregivers who had had conversations about feeding options with the health team was not associated with a PDA (41% control and 46% intervention, p=0.450). In LTCF with part-time professionals (26% control and 51% intervention, p<0.001) or without a responsible physician or nurse (13% control and 41% intervention, p<0.001), there was a difference in this outcome between the group that received the PDA and the control group.

Givens et al.1818 Givens JL, Kiely DK, Carey K, Mitchell SL. Healthcare proxies of nursing home residents with advanced dementia: decisions they confront and their satisfaction with decision-making. J Am Geriatr Soc [Internet]. 2009 [acesso em 26 ago. 2017];57(7):1149-55. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2796114/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
used data from a prospective cohort with 323 LTCF residents to determine the types of decisions made during the final stage of dementia and identify factors associated with greater satisfaction with the decision-making process. Caregivers were asked if they had made any health decisions in biweekly interviews during a follow-up period of 18 months or until the patient's death. In this event, the caregiver was interviewed two months after the event. To evaluate satisfaction, the Decision Satisfaction Inventory1919 Barry M, Cherkin J, Chang Y, Fowler F, Skates S. A randomized trial of a multimedia shared decision making programme for men facing a treatment decision for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Dis Manag Clin Outcomes. 1997;1(1):5-14. (DSI) scale (0-100 points, with higher scores indicating greater satisfaction with the decision process) was used. The mean DSI score was 78.4 (±19.5), indicating a high level of satisfaction. However, the items with the highest incidence of reasonable or bad evaluations were related to support, to the amount of information received and to the time spent with the main person responsible for the health care in the institution. The study evaluated several types of decisions. The management of feeding problems was the reason in 27.2% of cases. The interviews were conducted by telephone.

Ortín et al.2020 Ortín GD, Rimblas AN, Robles PH. Decisiones de nutrición artificial en pacientes con gastrostomía. Med Paliat. 2005;12(3):159-3 performed a cross-sectional study with data from patients who had undergone gastrostomy. The aim of the study was to describe how decisions about nutrition and patient participation were made. The informed consent document for gastrostomy was included in 88% of the medical records (n=36), but only 49% of these records (n=20) reported a discussion with the family about the decision over gastrostomy. The study had a cross-sectional design. The information was based on surveys of 41 medical records and only seven patients had a diagnosis of dementia (17%).

DISCUSSION

The use of a PDA as a shared decision support strategy reduces decisional conflict and increases the knowledge of caregivers of patients with severe dementia who need to decide on the method of feeding1111 Mitchell SL, Tetroe J, O'Connor AM. A Decision aid for long-term tube feeding in cognitively impaired older persons. J Am Geriatr Soc [Internet]. 2001 [acesso em 25 ago. 2017];49(3):313-6. Disponível em: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.4930313.x
http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1532-5415.20...
,1313 Kuraoka Y, Nakayama K. A Decision aid regarding long-term tube feeding targeting substitute decision makers for cognitively impaired older persons in Japan: a small-scale before-and-after study. BMC Geriatr [Internet]. 2014 [acesso em 26 ago. 2017];14:2-7. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3922454/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

14 Hanson LC, Carey TS, Caprio AJ, Lee TJ, Ersek M, Garrett J, et al. Improving decision-making for feeding options in advanced dementia: a randomized, controlled trial. J Am Geriatr Soc [Internet]. 2011 [acesso em 27 ago. 2017];59(11):2009-16. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3227016/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

15 Ersek M, Sefcik JS, Lin FC, Lee TJ, Gilliam R, Hanson LC. Provider staffing effect on a decision aid intervention. Clin Nurs Res [Internet]. 2014 [acesso em 27 ago. 2017];23(1):36-53. Disponível em: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1054773812470840
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
-1616 Snyder EA, Caprio AJ, Wessell K, Lin FC, Hanson LC. Impact of a decision aid on surrogate decision-makers' perceptions of feeding options for patients with dementia. J Am Med Dir Assoc [Internet]. 2013 [acesso em 28 ago. 2017];14(2):114-8. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3563876/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
. The quality of shared decision making in this scenario is low. This information is based on results from five studies1414 Hanson LC, Carey TS, Caprio AJ, Lee TJ, Ersek M, Garrett J, et al. Improving decision-making for feeding options in advanced dementia: a randomized, controlled trial. J Am Geriatr Soc [Internet]. 2011 [acesso em 27 ago. 2017];59(11):2009-16. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3227016/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,1515 Ersek M, Sefcik JS, Lin FC, Lee TJ, Gilliam R, Hanson LC. Provider staffing effect on a decision aid intervention. Clin Nurs Res [Internet]. 2014 [acesso em 27 ago. 2017];23(1):36-53. Disponível em: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1054773812470840
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
,1717 Teno JM, Mitchell SL, Kuo SK, Gozalo PL, Rhodes RL, Lima JC, et al. Decision-making and outcomes of feeding tube insertion: a five-state study. J Am Geriatr Soc [Internet]. 2011 [acesso em 29 ago. 2017];59(5):881-6. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3254052/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,1818 Givens JL, Kiely DK, Carey K, Mitchell SL. Healthcare proxies of nursing home residents with advanced dementia: decisions they confront and their satisfaction with decision-making. J Am Geriatr Soc [Internet]. 2009 [acesso em 26 ago. 2017];57(7):1149-55. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2796114/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2020 Ortín GD, Rimblas AN, Robles PH. Decisiones de nutrición artificial en pacientes con gastrostomía. Med Paliat. 2005;12(3):159-3 which suggest a low frequency of discussions about feeding options between the family and the health team, as well as dissatisfaction with the role played by the health provider in the decision-making process.

This systematic review did not identify multinational studies and the concentration of studies in North America suggests the need for care when interpreting the data in Brazil. In addition, outcomes are described using different scales, making statistically significant differences difficult to interpret clinically, since clinical significance was not established a priori.

Studying a complex intervention such as a shared decision is extremely challenging. The inclusion of cognitive deficit due to neurodegenerative dementia and consequent loss of autonomy adds complexity. Research in LTCF presents challenging methodological barriers. The selected studies evaluate an auxiliary tool in the process, the PDA. No information is provided to establish whether the integration of the use of these tools with communication skills training77 Elwyn G, Frosch D, Thomson R, Joseph-Williams N, Lloyd A, Kinnersley P, et al. Shared decision making: a model for clinical practice. J Gen Intern Med [Internet]. 2012 [acesso em 24 ago. 2017];27(10):1361-7. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3445676/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
would represent an advance in terms of outcomes such as increased knowledge and frequency of decisions based in values or reductions in decisional conflict and passivity in health decision-making.

While there is no other option other than seeking shared decision-making among these patients, there is still much to be done on this subject, especially in Brazil. The review found no Brazilian studies, not even among excluded works. Some barriers to shared decision-making are common to many countries, such as time constraints on health care, resistance of health professionals due to the fear of loss of control in their relationship with the patient, and the belief that people do not want to be involved in decision-making about their health or do not have this ability and may make inappropriate decisions, putting themselves at risk, even in the presence of scientific uncertainty77 Elwyn G, Frosch D, Thomson R, Joseph-Williams N, Lloyd A, Kinnersley P, et al. Shared decision making: a model for clinical practice. J Gen Intern Med [Internet]. 2012 [acesso em 24 ago. 2017];27(10):1361-7. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3445676/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
,2121 McCarter SP, Tariman JD, Spawn N, Mehmeti E, Bishop-Royse J, Garcia I, et al. Barriers and promoters to participation in the Era of Shared Treatment Decision-Making. West J Nurs Res [Internet]. 2016 [acesso em 01 mar. 2018];38(10):1282-97. Disponível em: journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0193945916650648.

However, there appear to be aggravating factors in the case of Brazil. The more traditional model of Brazilian medical education does not favor the embracing of this subject, since the development of communication skills has only recently been formally inserted in the country’s medical education2222 Abreu MM, Battisti R, Martins RS, Baumgratz TD, Cuziol M. Shared decision making in Brazil: history and current discussion. Z Evid Fortbild Qual Gesundh. 2011;105(4):240-4.. The low educational level of the Brazilian population may have been a limiting factor for the development of the shared decision-making habit, since people with lower levels of education take fewer health decisions2323 Zikmund-Fisher BJ, Couper MP, Singer E, Levin CA, Fowler Jr. FJ, Ziniel S, et al. The DECISIONS study: a nationwide survey of United States adults regarding 9 common medical decisions. Med Decis Mak [Internet]. 2010 [acesso em 30 ago. 2017];30(5 Suppl):20-34. Disponível em: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0272989X09353792
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1...
. This may, however, be an opportunity, as these people derive more benefits from shared decisions than groups with a higher educational level. These include a greater increase in knowledge and more defined reductions in decisional conflict levels and uncertainty in treatment choices. In this way, shared decisions can reduce health disparities2424 Durand MA, Carpenter L, Dolan H, Bravo P, Mann M, Bunn F, et al. Do interventions designed to support shared decision-making reduce health inequalities?: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS ONE [Internet]. 2014 [aceso em 01 mar. 2018];9(4):1-13. Disponível em: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3988077/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...
. It is also possible that the belief that patients are unable to decide has limited the role of physicians as educators in health practice.

The practice of medicine cannot be dissociated from scientific evidence, nor can it be performed without respecting the informed choice of patients. Without shared decisions, Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) may become a dictatorship of evidence, but without attention to the principles of EBM, shared decision-making is limited, as preferences of the individual will not be based on reliable estimates of the risks and benefits of the available options, resulting in poorly informed decisions2525 Hoffmann TC, Montori VM, Del Mar C. The connection between evidence-based medicine and shared decision making. J Am Med Assoc [Internet]. 2014 [acesso em 20 jan. 2018];312(13):1295-96. Disponível em: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/1910118
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fu...
. Brazilian medicine appears to have a long way to go in terms of the advancement of technical knowledge, the socialization of this knowledge and the democratization of choices in the doctor-patient relationship.

This study has limitations. The fact that two separate searches were not performed may have resulted in selection bias and the failure to find important articles for review. The fact that some databases were not used in the selections process may also have contributed to this. The researchers did not use appropriate instruments to evaluate the quality of the articles chosen. However, to minimize this limitation the main shortcomings of the studies were described in the results.

CONCLUSION

The use of a shared decision support tool in the choice of feeding method in severely demented patients reduces the intensity of decisional conflict and increases the level of awareness of caregivers to a statistically significant degree. The quality of the decision-making process in this situation appears to be very poor, due to the lack of discussion on the topic between caregivers and health staff, and the negative evaluations of the participation of health providers in the decision-making process. This study represents a step towards fostering the use of shared decisions in the difficult scenario of choice of feeding method in patients with severe dementia.

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    Mar-Apr 2018

History

  • Received
    30 Oct 2017
  • Reviewed
    02 Feb 2018
  • Accepted
    14 Mar 2018
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