Informed choice: why measuring behaviour is important.
Year: 2005
Type: article
Abstract: Olusanya et al debate the principles of informed choice within the context of infant hearing screening.1 In doing so they draw on our conceptualisation and measure of informed choice. Unfortunately they draw an erroneous conclusion, namely that it is inappropriate to measure uptake as part of assessing informed choice. This is based on a misinterpretation of both our definition of informed choice and its measurement.
Based on the decision making literature,2 we have proposed an operational definition of informed choice: “one that is based on relevant knowledge, consistent with the decision maker’s values and behaviourally implemented”.3 There are two types of informed choice: an informed choice to decline screening, where someone with good knowledge and negative attitudes towards themselves undergoing screening does not undergo screening; and an informed choice to accept screening where someone with good knowledge and positive attitudes towards themselves undergoing screening, undergoes screening. An assessment of informed choice therefore requires an assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and the consistency between attitudes and screening behaviour, to determine whether screening behaviour, usually referred to as uptake, reflects the attitudes of the person offered screening. This definition and model places no value on whether the choice made is to accept or to …
Source: Europe PMC (PubMed Central)
Authors: T M Marteau, E Dormandy, R Crockett
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1935337733