Allied health profession students' attitudes toward the patient role in treatment decision-making.

BACKGROUND

The concordance model of patient care requires decision-making to be a shared process whereby healthcare providers take patients' understanding of their illness and concerns into consideration. The extent to which providers involve patients in decision-making differs by discipline. In order for patients to receive better interdisciplinary care, the lack of congruence among providers to involve patients in decision-making must be addressed.

AIM

To examine the attitudes of students in nursing, respiratory care, and pharmacy toward concordance and whether attitudes differed across these three allied health professions.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, exploratory design was used. Two hundred seventy-six students enrolled in four courses (2 nursing, 1 respiratory care, and 1 pharmacy) completed the LATCon II scale over a 4-week period. Reliability of the LATCon II scale was examined using Cronbach alpha. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were conducted using SPSS version 17.0.

RESULTS

Two hundred sixty-eight students participated in the study. Of them, 97.8% supported concordance, and no significant difference was found among the three professions. Few considered patients' contributions to be important or decision-making a mutual process. Demographic factors were not significant.

CONCLUSION

Students held positive attitudes toward concordance, and similar attitudes toward concordance bode well for interprofessional collaboration in healthcare. Strategies to improve concordance attitudes and practice need to be explored.