Development of a Decision Aid for Family Surrogate Decision Makers of Critically Ill Patients Requiring Renal Replacement Therapy in ICU:A User-Centered Design for Rapid Prototyping

Objectives Renal replacement therapy(RRT)is increasingly adopted for critically ill patients diagnosed with acute kidney injury,but the optimal time for initiation remains unclear and prognosis is uncertain,leading to medical complexity,ethical conflicts,and decision dilemmas in intensive care unit(ICU)settings.This study aimed to develop a decision aid(DA)for the family surrogate of critically ill patients to support their engagement in shared decision-making process with clinicians.Methods Development of DA employed a systematic process with user-centered design(UCD)principle,which included:(i)competitive analysis:searched,screened,and assessed the existing DAs to gather insights for design strategies,developmental techniques,and functionalities;(ii)user needs assessment:interviewed family surrogates in our hospital to explore target user group's decision-making experience and identify their unmet needs;(iii)evidence syntheses:integrate latest clinical evidence and pertinent information to inform the content development of DA.Results The competitive analysis included 16 relevant DAs,from which we derived valuable insights using existing resources.User decision needs were explored among a cohort of 15 family surrogates,revealing four thematic issues in decision-making,including stuck into dilemmas,sense of uncertainty,limited capacity,and delayed decision confirmation.A total of 27 articles were included for evidence syntheses.Relevant decision making knowledge on disease and treatment,as delineated in the literature sourced from decision support system or clinical guidelines,were formatted as the foundational knowledge base.Twenty-one items of evidence were extracted and integrated into the content panels of benefits and risks of RRT,possible outcomes,and reasons to choose.The DA was drafted into a web-based phototype using the elements of UCD.This platform could guide users in their preparation of decision-making through a sequential four-step process:identifying treatment options,weighing the benefits and risks,clarifying personal preferences and values,and formulating a schedule for formal shared decision-making with clinicians.Conclusions We developed a rapid prototype of DA tailored for family surrogate decision makers of critically ill patients in need of RRT in ICU setting.Future studies are needed to evaluate its usability,feasibility,and clinical effects of this intervention.

Role of decision aids in orthopaedic surgery

Medical treatment of patients inherently entails the risk of undesired complication or side effects. It is essential to inform the patient about the expected outcomes, but also the possible undesired outcomes. The patients preference and values regarding the potential outcomes should be involved in the decision making process. Even though many orthopaedic surgeons are positive towards shared decision-making, it is minimally introduced in the orthopaedic daily practice and decision-making is still mostly physician based. Decision aids are designed to support the physician and patient in the shareddecision-making process. By using decision aids, patients can learn more about their condition and treatment options in advance to the decision-making. This will reduce decisional conflict and improve participation and satisfaction.

A Novel System on Efficient Matching, Decision Making and Distributing

The object matching and distribution problem is a traditional challenge in different kinds of networks, such as kidney distribution networks. Applying differential element analysis methods, decision tree, integer linear programming the-ory and stochastic processes ideas, we propose models for the objects matching, the distribu-tion network, the exchange system and the in-dividual decision-making strategy, and thor-oughly analyze the relationship between the matching rate and the waiting time, and their impacts on the efficiency of the donor-matching process. And as the experiments, we evaluate the algorithms and system by kidney matching, decision making and distribution problems on real world data.

Application of Optimal Sinter Burden Design

The application of the optimal sinter burden design in the sinter shop of No.1 Iron-making Plant in Tangshan Iron & Steel Corp was reported. By using burden calculation andsimulating production under different situations, it is demonstrated that the technology can providethe relevant information in product quality and cost etc. for decision-makers. The technology hasbeen used to guide production of the Sinter Shop since 2000, and a remarkable achievement has beenobtained.