New Checklist Evaluates Health Care Decision Aids

Researchers have developed a checklist to help improve the quality of reporting for studies that evaluate patient decision aids. Published in BMJ Quality & Safety, the Standards for UNiversal reporting of patient Decision Aid Evaluations (SUNDAE) checklist consists of 26 items, such as “describe the intended user(s) of the patient decision aid” and “describe the decision that is the focus of the patient decision aid.” Decision aids are designed to help people make informed and deliberated choices among health care options. They can provide accurate information on treatment options, help patients clarify their values and preferences, and provide guidance for decisionmaking. AHRQ has supported meetings for an international group of experts to refine the SUNDAE checklist and to create an Explanation and Elaboration document to guide users. Access the abstract of the checklist and the abstract of an article containing additional details.