Development, Implementation and Evaluation of an Individual Decision Aid in Swedish Cancer Screening Programs

Background: Sweden has a long tradition of organized national population-based screening programs. Participation rates differ between programs and regions, are relatively high in some groups, but lower in other. To apply an equity perspective on screening, it is desired that individuals make an informed decision on knowledge rather than ignorance, misconceptions, or fear. Decision Aids (DAs) are set to deliver information about different health care options and to help individuals make visible values connected to the options available. DAs are not meant to guide individuals to choose one option over the another. The advantage of an individual Decision Aid (iDA) is that individuals gain knowledge on cancer and screening entering one webpage with possibility to communicate with health professionals and thereafter make their decision regarding participate. The primary objective is therefore to develop and implement a web-based iDA for individuals invited to cancer screening in Sweden. The secondary objective is to evaluate the implemented web-based iDA. Methods: This study has an evaluative approach with both a process-, an implementation and an outcome evaluation. Multiple methods will be used including patient reported data, focus group discussions and individual interviews using the think aloud technique. The project is based on the framework from The International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS) and the proposed model development process for DAs as presented by Coulter et al. Individuals aged 23-74, including women aged (the cervical- and breast- and bowel cancer screening module) and men aged (the bowel cancer screening module), will be included in the developmental process. Efforts will be made to recruit participants with disabilities, who live outside society and who are foreign born. Discussion: To the best of our knowledge the present study is the first aiming at developing an iDA for usage in Swedish context, The iDA is intended to contribute so tha