Development and Validation of a Patient Decision Aid for the Treatment of Ankle Arthritis

CATEGORY: Ankle Arthritis; Ankle INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE: Choosing a treatment course can be challenging for patients with ankle osteoarthritis given the multiple operative and nonoperative options. We developed and validated the Ankle Arthritis Patient Decision Aid as a tool to improve shared decision-making for such patients. METHODS: Eighty patients of 2 surgeons at a US academic foot and ankle practice were recruited from October 2020 to June 2021 using an electronic medical record messaging system. Participants reviewed the tool and answered survey questions evaluating its quality and factors affecting treatment choice in a hypothetical patient scenario. We evaluated the tool using decisional conflict scores (maximum, 40 points, with higher scores indicating greater uncertainty), pre- and post-knowledge test scores (maximum, 8 points), and helpfulness scores (maximum, 7 points). We compared pre- and post-test knowledge scores using paired Student t- tests. Alpha=.05. RESULTS: Mean (+- standard deviation) knowledge scores improved from 4.8 +- 1.2 (pre-test) to 6.7 +- 1.3 (post-test), for a mean improvement of 1.9 +- 1.4 (p<.001). The mean decisional conflict score was 4.1 +- 5.7, reflecting minimal uncertainty. Factors greatly affecting participants' treatment choices were desire to maintain a high level of physical activity (n=58), risk of complications (n=35), recovery time (n=33), and risk of increased rate of arthritis in adjacent joints (n=32). The mean reported helpfulness score was 5.9 +- 1.2, reflecting substantial benefit. CONCLUSION: The Ankle Arthritis Patient Decision Aid is a comprehensible tool that significantly improves patient knowledge regarding treatment options for ankle arthritis.