Partnerships to Improve Shared Decision Making for Patients with Hypertension - Health Equity Implications.

Partnerships to Improve Shared Decision Making for Patients with Hypertension - Health Equity Implications. Ethn Dis. 2019;29(Suppl 1):97-102 Authors: Langford AT, Williams SK, Applegate M, Ogedegbe O, Braithwaite RS Abstract Shared decision making (SDM) has increasingly become appreciated as a method to enhance patient involvement in health care decisions, patient-provider communication, and patient-centered care. Compared with cancer, the literature on SDM for hypertension is more limited. This is notable because hypertension is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease and both conditions disproportionately affect certain subgroups of patients. However, SDM holds promise for improving health equity by better engaging patients in their health care. For example, many reasonable options exist for treating uncomplicated stage-1 hypertension. These options include medication and/or lifestyle changes such as healthy eating, physical activity, and weight management. Deciding on "the best" plan of action for hypertension management can be challenging because patients have different goals and preferences for treatment. As hypertension management may be considered a preference-sensitive decision, adherence to treatment plans may be greater if those plans are concordant with patient preferences. SDM can be implemented in a broad array of care contexts, from patient-provider dyads to interprofessional collaborations. In this article,...
Source: Ethnicity and Disease - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Ethn Dis Source Type: research