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Patient decision aids

Patient decision aids are tools that help people become involved in decision making by making explicit the decision that needs to be made, providing information about the options and outcomes, and by clarifying personal values. They are designed to complement, rather than replace, counseling from a health practitioner.

The Ottawa Hospital's Patient Decision Aids Research Group, which is also affiliated with the University of Ottawa, maintains the world's largest inventory of patient decision aids, along with related tools and resources. 

Research News


Ever have a tough time making a medical decision? These tools can help you Ever have a tough time making a medical decision? These tools can help you
November 12, 2024 - “I am 100 per cent confident in the decision I made. I would choose it again in a heartbeat,” says patient Daniel O’Driscoll.
Drs. Dawn Stacey and Ian Graham named Distinguished University Professors Drs. Dawn Stacey and Ian Graham named Distinguished University Professors
July 27, 2022 - Senior scientists Drs. Dawn Stacey and Ian Graham have both received the title of Distinguished University Professor from the University of Ottawa in recognition of their exceptional scholarly achievement, pre-eminence in their fields and solid teach
App provides patients with their personalized risks after surgery App provides patients with their personalized risks after surgery
February 17, 2021 - Patients who used a made-in-Ottawa app to calculate their risk of complications, hospitalization and death after surgery understood these risks better than patients who received standard care, according to a study published in the Canadian Journal of
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Researchers


Name Scientific appointment Diseases, conditions and populations of interest Research and clinical approaches
Breau, Rodney
MD
Senior Scientist
(ACR) 		Cancer, Kidney disease, Prostate cancer Clinical decision rules, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Imaging, Patient decision aids, Patient engagement, Quality Improvement, Surgery, Systematic reviews, Transfusions
Brehaut, Jamie
PhD
Senior Scientist
(MIR) 		Behaviour, Health professional behaviour change, Health services research, Knowledge translation and implementation research, Patient decision aids, Patient engagement, Psychology, Psychometrics, Qualitative methods, Shared decision making, Surveys
Grimes, David
MD, FRCPC
Associate Scientist
(NS) 		Huntington's, Parkinson's Clinical research, Clinical trials, Patient decision aids
Lavallee, Luke
MDCM, MSc, FRCSC
Scientist
(ACR) 		Cancer, Kidney disease, Population health, Prostate cancer Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Epidemiology, Health economics, Health professional behaviour change, Imaging, Knowledge translation and implementation research, Patient decision aids, Quality Improvement, Surgery, Systematic reviews
Moore, Gregory
MD, FRCPC
Clinician Investigator
(ACR) 		Newborn and child health Clinical research, Knowledge translation and implementation research, Patient decision aids, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Shared decision making, Systematic reviews
Poulin, Patricia
C. Psych.
Associate Scientist
(NS) 		Addiction, Anxiety, Cancer, Chronic pain, Depression, Health equity, Musculoskeletal conditions, Pain Anesthesiology, Behaviour, Biomarkers, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Emergency medicine, Epidemiology, Health professional behaviour change, Health services research, Knowledge translation and implementation research, Palliative care, Patient decision aids, Patient safety, Peri-operative medicine, Pragmatic trials, Psychology, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Systematic reviews
Ramsay, Timothy
PhD
Senior Scientist
(MIR) 		Addiction, Alzheimer's, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Anxiety, Ataxia, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Autism, Bipolar, Brain and neuromuscular disease, Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Colorectal cancer, Concussion, Cystic fibrosis, Dementia, Depression, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Health, HIV, Immigrant and refugee health, Influenza, Kidney disease, Lung cancer, Macular degeneration, Men's health, Multiple sclerosis, Muscular dystrophy, Myasthenia gravis, Obesity, Ovarian cancer, Parkinson's, Pulmonary hypertension, Septic shock, Spinal cord injury Artificial intelligence and data science, Behaviour, Biomaterials, Biostatistics, Cell therapy, Clinical decision rules, Clinical research, Clinical trials, Cohort studies, Critical care, Drug development, Emergency medicine, Epidemiology, Health professional behaviour change, Health promotion, Health research methods, Health services research, Health technology, Immunization, Immunotherapy, Palliative care, Patient decision aids, Pharmacology, Pharmacy, Prevention, Psychology, Psychometrics, Public health, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Regenerative medicine, Rehabilitation, Risk assessment, Shared decision making, Surgery, Surveys, Systematic reviews, Transfusions, Translational research, Transplantation, Viral therapy
Stacey, Dawn
RN, PhD, CON(C)
Senior Scientist
(MIR) 		Clinical research, Clinical trials, Health professional behaviour change, Health research methods, Health services research, Knowledge translation and implementation research, Patient decision aids, Patient engagement, Qualitative methods, Quality Improvement, Shared decision making, Surveys, Systematic reviews