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Table 1 Baseline characteristics by group

From: Effects of a shared decision making intervention for older adults with multiple chronic conditions: the DICO study

Characteristics

All patients (N = 213)

Pre-intervention

Post-intervention

Pre-intervention vs post-intervention patients

Usual care patients (na = 105)

Intervention patients (na = 108)

p value

Mean age in years (SD)

77.3 (7.9)

78.0 (8.2)

76.5 (7.4)

.56

Female sex (n, %)

120 (56.3)

55 (52.4)

65 (6.2)

.25

Level of education

   

.45

 Low (n, %)

31 (15.2)

19 (18.8)

12 (11.1)

 

 Middle (n, %)

118 (57.8)

58 (57.5)

60 (55.6)

 

 High (n, %)

55 (27.0)

23 (22.8)

32 (29.6)

 

Living situation

   

.63

 Independent, alone (n, %)

91 (43.5)

41 (4.6)

50 (46.3)

 

 Independent, with others (n,%)

113 (54.1)

58 (57.5)

55 (5.9)

 

 Home for the elderly (n, %)

5 (2.4)

2 (2.0)

3 (2.8)

 

 Health literacy (SAHL-D22)b (mean, SD)

11.8 (6.9)

1.7 (6.9)

12.9 (6.8)

.55

 Polypharmacyc (≥ 4) (n, %)

137 (64.3)

65 (61.9)

72 (66.7)

.93

 Frailty (GFI)d mean, SD

4.3 (2.5)

4.4 (2.6)

4.2 (2.4)

.69

 Comorbidity (CCI)e mean, SD

1.9 (1.9)

2.09 (1.8)

1.65 (1.9)

.09

 Duration consultations (in min) mean (SD)

38.7 (33.5)

40.9 (26.8)

36.6 (38.6)

.37

Main problem (according to geriatrician) (n, %)

   

.29

 Cognition/dementia

98 (45.2)

52 (48.0)

46 (41.4)

 

 Osteoporosis

27 (12.4)

9 (8.0)

18 (16.2)

 

 Falls/mobility

17 (7.8)

10 (9.0)

7 (6.3)

 

 Depression

9 (4.1)

3 (3.0)

6 (5.4)

 

 Other (< 5%)

66 (3.4)

34 (32.0)

32 (3.7)

 

 Most frequently discussed decisionsf (according to geriatrician) (n,%)

   

.32

 Additional diagnostics

69 (22.6)

31 (24.2)

38 (21.5)

 

 Follow-up

66 (21.6)

27 (21.1)

39 (22.0)

 

 Medication

57 (18.7)

28 (21.8)

29 (16.4)

 

 Referral to primary care

49 (16.1)

19 (14.8)

30 (16.9)

 

 Lifestyle

29 (9.5)

12 (9.4)

17 (9.6)

 

 Consultation other hospital specialist

26 (8.5)

8 (6.2)

18 (1.2)

 

 Other

9 (3.0)

3 (2.3)

6 (3.4)

 

More options were available (according to geriatrician) (n, %)

167 (78.4)

82 (87.2)

85 (78.7)

.17

If so, options were considered equal (according to geriatrician) (n, %)

83 (39.0)

36 (43.3)

47 (53.4)

.42

  1. aThree patients were excluded after analysis, due to too much missing data (see flow chart) and n varies slightly due to missing data
  2. bHealth literacy: SAHL-D22 (score 0–22; a higher score indicates higher health literacy)
  3. cPolypharmacy: use of ≥ 4 different medications
  4. dFrailty: GFI (score 0–15; score > 4 indicates frailty)
  5. eComorbidity: CCI. A higher CCI-score (CCI-score > 5) is associated with higher morbidity and mortality
  6. fMore decisions in 1 consultation were possible
  7. * < .05; ** < .01; *** < .001; SD standard deviation
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BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making

ISSN: 1472-6947

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