The investigators plan a prospective randomized controlled study that compares the treatment decisions made by patients who receive decision aids, as compared to patients treated with usual care and the American Society for Surgery of the Hand brochures. The investigators expect to enroll 126 patients.
Decision aids are tools that help patients participate in making decisions by providing detailed, specific, and personalized information regarding the benefits and risks of various potential treatment options for a diagnosis. Decision aids can reduce the level of uncertainty and mental anguish associated with choosing a particular course of action, i.e. 'decisional conflict'. The most common manifestations of decisional conflict include verbalized uncertainty about choices or undesired consequences of alternatives, vacillation between choices, and delayed decision making.
Besides the advantages of decision aids in the process of decision-making, the literature is not conclusive about the effect of decision aids on patient satisfaction. Of the 86 randomized controlled trials identified by authors Stacey et al., eleven studies measured satisfaction. Of these, four studies reported that people exposed to decision aids had higher satisfaction with their choice compared to usual care, and the remaining seven reported no statistically significant difference.
Studies that have directly investigated the effect of decision aids in orthopaedic practice are limited and further study is necessary to determine the best way to implement decision aids in a clinical orthopedic practice. 7-12 Randomized trials evaluating the impact of decision aids on patient knowledge, decisional conflict, satisfaction, and outcomes may have substantial impact in hand surgery where most treatments are elective and address quality of life.
Inclusion Criteria:
Age 18 and above
Diagnosis of moderate or severe:
2.) Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) 5.) Trigger Finger (TF)
Exclusion Criteria: