TY - JOUR
T1 - Shared decision-making with athletes
T2 - a survey study of healthcare professionals' perspectives
AU - Nelis, Sofie
AU - Dijkstra, Hendrik Paul
AU - Damman, Olga Catherina
AU - Farooq, Abdulaziz
AU - Verhagen, Evert
N1 - © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - OBJECTIVES: Shared decision-making (SDM) is a trending topic in athlete health care; however, little is known about its use in a sports context. This study aimed to measure knowledge and self-perceived practice of SDM among healthcare professionals working with athletes. This study evaluates SDM attitudes and preferences and explores how healthcare professionals perceive the factors influencing SDM.METHODS: A web-based cross-sectional survey with open-ended and closed-ended questions.RESULTS: Our survey was completed by 131 healthcare professionals. The majority (63.6%) reported to prefer SDM and to be confident in their SDM skills (81.1%). Despite this inclination and confidence, only one in four clinicians reported consistent practice of SDM when feasible. Additionally, most clinicians lacked SDM knowledge. The barriers perceived by healthcare professionals included time constraints (17.6%), limited patient knowledge (17.6%), limited patient motivation (13.5%) and language barriers (16.2%). Importantly, two-thirds of the participants believed that SDM in athlete health care differs from SDM in non-athletes due to the high-pressure environment, the tension between performance and health, and the involvement of multiple stakeholders with potentially conflicting interests.CONCLUSIONS: Although healthcare professionals preferred SDM, they did not fully understand nor routinely practice it. Most healthcare professionals perceive SDM in athlete health care to differ from SDM in the general population. Therefore, to inform the implementation of SDM in athlete health care, future research is crucial to understand better what makes practising SDM unique in this setting.
AB - OBJECTIVES: Shared decision-making (SDM) is a trending topic in athlete health care; however, little is known about its use in a sports context. This study aimed to measure knowledge and self-perceived practice of SDM among healthcare professionals working with athletes. This study evaluates SDM attitudes and preferences and explores how healthcare professionals perceive the factors influencing SDM.METHODS: A web-based cross-sectional survey with open-ended and closed-ended questions.RESULTS: Our survey was completed by 131 healthcare professionals. The majority (63.6%) reported to prefer SDM and to be confident in their SDM skills (81.1%). Despite this inclination and confidence, only one in four clinicians reported consistent practice of SDM when feasible. Additionally, most clinicians lacked SDM knowledge. The barriers perceived by healthcare professionals included time constraints (17.6%), limited patient knowledge (17.6%), limited patient motivation (13.5%) and language barriers (16.2%). Importantly, two-thirds of the participants believed that SDM in athlete health care differs from SDM in non-athletes due to the high-pressure environment, the tension between performance and health, and the involvement of multiple stakeholders with potentially conflicting interests.CONCLUSIONS: Although healthcare professionals preferred SDM, they did not fully understand nor routinely practice it. Most healthcare professionals perceive SDM in athlete health care to differ from SDM in the general population. Therefore, to inform the implementation of SDM in athlete health care, future research is crucial to understand better what makes practising SDM unique in this setting.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85192775487&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/bmjsem-2024-001913
DO - 10.1136/bmjsem-2024-001913
M3 - Article
C2 - 38736642
VL - 10
JO - BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine
JF - BMJ Open Sport and Exercise Medicine
SN - 2055-7647
IS - 2
M1 - e001913
ER -