Abstract
Shared decision making and workload among Dutch health care professionals
R. Schouteten & L. Jansen, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 32, November 2019, nr. 4, pp. 279-298.
This study investigates the effect of shared decision making on the work and workload of health care professionals in hospitals. In shared decision making, patients are actively involved in the decision making process. Empirical research shows that shared decision making has positive effects on patient related outcomes, however there are no studies into the effects of this way of decision making for the health care professionals involved.
Building on the Job Demands-Resources model, we studied the mechanisms that can explain the effects of shared decision making on health care professionals when applied in the care processes for patients with prostate cancer. The study collected qualitative data on the care processes from ten patients and the two health care professionals involved.
Next to a confirmation of the positive effects for patients, the results show that the health care professionals positively evaluate shared decision making. Regarding workload, the health care professionals report a healthy balance between job demands and resources. The mechanisms to explain these positive results include the carefulness of the design and implementation of such a new way of working. This means that a well-thought out implementation of a new way of working support keeping workload within healthy limits, even in a high-workload sector.
