Do Patients Want to be Informed and be Involved in Decision-Making?

Abstract

This study attempts to examine patients' needs for information and whether they want to participate in decision-making during clinical consultations. An empirical study was carried out in the context of a Malaysian health care setting involving 108 diabetic patients from a public hospital. Although most of the patients prefer more information, they do not want to be involved in decision-making. The needs and desires for information, especially, amongst patients with lower education levels were not manifested in their information-seeking behaviors during actual interactions with their doctors. Doctors, on the other hand, could have misperceived their preferences for information.