Facing a decision about treatment or care options?

Patient decision aids help people decide on healthcare options. They give evidence-based information on the options available, along with likely outcomes, benefits, harms and uncertainties.

They should be used to inform conversations between a person and their healthcare practitioner, supporting them to make informed choices in line with their personal values and preferences.  

These new decision aids could have a significant impact on people with lived experience and/or their families and loved ones by: 

• facilitating a more informed conversation, with clearly laid out options 
• providing helpful prompts and questions for them to pursue with the practitioner
• demystifying medical jargon.  

Decision support tools

Making a decision about stable angina

This tool is for people who have stable angina who have been asked to think about having treatment to help improve blood flow to the heart muscle. This is sometimes called revascularisation. This treatment would usually be in addition to taking medicines for angina.

Access the decision support tool for stable angina

Making decisions to help you live well with chronic primary pain

This tool is for people aged 16 years and over with chronic primary pain.

It can help you think about what options you might like to consider to help you live well with pain.

Access the decision support tool for chronic primary pain

Making decisions about managing depression

This tool  is for adults with depression. Depression affects different people in different ways. Thinking about the different options can help you choose what’s best for you at the moment.

There may be different people involved in your care, such as members of your GP team, and other professionals such as counsellors and psychologists. We call them your health and care team.

Access the decision support tool for managing depression

Making a decision about knee osteoarthritis

This decision support tool is to help with decisions about knee osteoarthritis. It includes information about the condition and possible treatments.

Access the decision support tool for knee osteoarthritis

Making a decision about abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)

This tool is for people who have an abdominal aortic aneurysm (usually called AAA or triple A for short) and who have been asked to think about surgery for it.

You can use this decision aid to help you talk to the team of healthcare professionals looking after you. This team is often called the MDT (short for multidisciplinary team), because it includes people from different health professions and specialties.

Access the decision support tool for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) 

Making a decision about glue ear if your child has hearing loss

This tool  is for parents or carers of children younger than 12 years who have glue ear with hearing loss. 

You can go through it and use it to help you talk to your child’s care team. Your child’s care team includes people from different health professions and specialties who help to manage your child’s glue ear, for example, audiologists, surgeons and other ear specialists.

Access the decision support tool for glue ear if your child has hearing loss