EVALUATING AN H1N1 DECISION AID FOR FAMILIES

Purpose: To evaluate the decision-making needs of families who considered the H1N1 vaccine and the acceptability of an H1N1 decision aid.

Method: CHEO Decision Services developed a decision aid for families called “Should I get the H1N1 vaccine?” The decision aid includes information about the options including probabilities of benefits and side effects, values clarification, and assessment of decision-making needs. A convenience sample of Canadian parents completed an online needs assessment survey and provided feedback on the decision aid (Spring 2010). Data was gathered from 58 participants across several provinces (47 Ontario, 3 Quebec, 3 British Columbia, 2 Manitoba, 1 Alberta, 1 Saskatchewan, and 1 Nova Scotia). Most participants were female (78%), lived in the city (90%) and had a university degree (67%).

Result: Most participants decided to take the H1N1 vaccine (88%) while some decided to decline (10%) or delay (2%) taking the vaccine. Decision-makers were both parents together (26%), mothers only (56%), or fathers only (4%). Approximately half of the participants reported decisional conflict. They were unsure about what to do (47%) and/or worried about what could go wrong (53%). Decision-makers reported not knowing enough about the options, benefits, and risks of each decision (38%), and feeling pressured by others (69%). Participants found the H1N1 decision aid acceptable. Most participants found the information to be just about right (67%) though some reported that they found there was a little less (11%) or a little more information than needed (15%). Respondents indicated that the information was completely balanced (43%) or a little slanted toward the H1N1 vaccine (47%). The decision aid was clear about almost everything (42%) or everything (50%). Most participants indicated they would probably or definitely recommend the decision aid (86%) and found the decision aid somewhat or very helpful (92%).

Conclusion: Results from our online needs assessment survey suggest that families had unaddressed decision-making needs when considering whether to vaccinate themselves and their family members against H1N1. Most participants found the H1N1 decision aid acceptable and would recommend it to other people facing the same decision.