A team of researchers set out to develop and test a patient decision aid (PDA) prototype for prosthetists and new lower-limb prosthesis users to understand prosthetic device design options and help them choose devices that reflect their needs, values, and preferences. Following testing, the researchers concluded that it was useable, accurate, and comprehensible.
Development was informed by a qualitative needs assessment, guided by the International Patient Decision Aid Standards, and evaluated by steering groups of experienced prosthesis users, prosthetists, and researchers through focus groups, individual interviews, and rating on a Likert scale.
The resulting PDA included six sections: Amputation and Early Recovery, Communication, Values, Prosthesis Design, Preferences, and Prosthetic Journey. Usability, accuracy, and comprehensibility were rated as 9.2, 9.6, and 9.6, respectively, by prosthetic professionals, and 9.4, 9.6, and 9.6, respectively, by prosthesis users.
One challenge in development of the tool was determining the amount of information to include, highlighting the diversity in end users’ informational needs, the study’s authors wrote. They suggest that future iterations of the PDA undergo beta testing in clinical settings.
The study, “Development and alpha testing of a patient shared decision aid for prosthesis design for new lower limb prosthesis users,” was published in Prosthetics and Orthotics International.
