Introduction Severe osteoarthritis (OA) affecting the hip or knee commonly leads to joint arthroplasty. However, dissatisfaction rates post-surgery are notable (7% for total hip arthroplasty and 11–18% for total knee arthroplasty). Making a well-informed decision about treatment necessitates thorough patient understanding of various options. While the benefits of shared decision-making (SDM) and the utilization of patient decision aids (PtDA) in consultations are increasingly recognized, their application in OA consultations remains limited. This study aims to develop and field-test an in-consult PtDA for patients with hip or knee OA.

Methods Following the recommendations of the International Patient Decision Aid Standards, an iterative development process was undertaken. The d arsen evelopment process on knowledge was gained from fifteen field observations, two focus group discussions with patients (n=11), relatives (n=4), and two with orthopedic surgeons (n=12). Alpha testing was conducted among orthopedic surgeons (n=12) and newly recruited patients with hip or knee OA (n=15) to assess acceptability and usability.

Results Patients and surgeons expressed a preference for joint-specific PtDAs, leading to the development of distinct editions tailored for knee and hip OA. Patients and surgeons found the PtDAs acceptable and useful, with mean Patient Decision Making Satisfaction (PDMS) scores of 60.0 (hip PtDA) and 80.0 (knee PtDA) for patients, and mean PDMS scores of 72.0 (hip PtDA) and 59.7 (knee PtDA) for surgeons.

Discussion The development of the two PtDAs involved nine iterative processes, with challenges in incorporating statistics on non-surgical treatment outcomes due to limited research results.

Conclusion(s) Through collaborative efforts with patients and orthopedic surgeons at three Danish University Hospitals, two in-consult PtDAs were developed and tested. The PtDAs were assessed as useful and acceptable by patients and surgeons in the decision-making situation.