Preferences for involvement in treatment decision-making among Norwegian women with urinary incontinence (vol 86, pg 1370, 2007)

Current health policies advocate patient participation in treatment decision-making. Objective. To explore whether role preferences among women with urinary incontinence (UI) change depending on the treatment decision-making context. We also explore what factors are associated with role preferences and changes in role preferences.A national telephone survey of 265 women with UI identified from 1,000 randomly selected Norwegian women aged 18 or over. The interview included questions on socioeconomic factors, general health status, UI-related factors, and role preferences. Women were categorised as preferring an 'active', 'collaborative', or 'passive' role in treatment decision-making based on their selection of a response from the Control Preferences Scale.Women's preferences changed significantly when considering UI treatment decision-making compared to treatment decision-making generally (p<0.001). A total of 60% preferred an active role in UI treatment decisions compared to 38% when considering treatment decision-making generally. Multivariable analyses found that higher education was significantly associated with preferring an active role in general treatment decision-making. For UI treatment decision-making, women aged 60 or over and those who were married or had a partner were less likely to prefer an active compared to a collaborative role.Women with UI prefer a more active role when considering UI treatment decision-making compared to treatment decision-making generally. Factors associated with role preferences vary depending on the decision-making context, with older women and those who were married or had a partner less [corrected] likely to prefer an active role when considering UI treatment decision-making.