SynthesisPain medicine (Malden, Mass.)2020
Do Decision Aids Benefit Patients with Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain? A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed.
- One-Page Patient Fact Sheets for Low Back Pain in Primary Care: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Barriers to Adhering to Post-operative Recovery in Spinal Decompression Surgery and Impact on Patient-Reported Outcomes.Global spine journal · 2026Article
- Article
- Risk factors of decisional conflict among people living with chronic pain identified through a pan-Canadian survey.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Shared decision making using digital twins in knee osteoarthritis care: a randomized clinical trial of an AI-enabled decision aid versus education alone on decision quality, physical function, and user experience.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- Impact of a Decision Aid on Perceptions of Shared Decision-Making in the Primary Care Management of Patients With Subacromial Pain Syndrome: A Two-Phased Multi-Methods Study.Musculoskeletal care · 2025Article
- Insights of shared decision-making and personalized treatment in orthopedics - A qualitative systematic review.Journal of clinical orthopaedics and trauma · 2025Article
- People living with chronic pain in Canada face difficult decisions and decisional conflict concerning their care: data from the national DECIDE-PAIN survey.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Psychological distress does not predict decisional regret in patients undergoing spinal reconstruction for adult spinal deformity.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2024Article
- Decisional regret following corrective adult spinal deformity surgery: a single institution study of incidence and risk factors.Spine deformity · 2024Article
- The impact of a patient decision aid on treatment choices after anterior cruciate ligament injuries.Journal of experimental orthopaedics · 2023Article
- Shared Decision-Making in Acute Pain Services.Current pain and headache reports · 2023Review
- Developing a patient decision aid for Achilles tendon rupture management: a mixed-methods study.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Decisional needs assessment for patient-centred pain care in Canada: the DECIDE-PAIN study protocol.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Effect of Information Content and General Practitioner Recommendation to Exercise on Treatment Beliefs and Intentions for Knee Osteoarthritis: An Online Multi-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial.ACR open rheumatology · 2023Article
- Feasibility and Acceptability of the Pain Profile, a Clinical Questionnaire Aimed at Improving Pain Care.Journal of pain research · 2023Article
- Improving patient-provider communication about chronic pain: development and feasibility testing of a shared decision-making tool.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2020Article
- Musculoskeletal Pain in Older Adults: A Clinical Review.The Medical clinics of North America · 2020Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo review the effect of patient decision aids for adults making treatment decisions regarding the management of chronic musculoskeletal pain.
methodsWe performed a systematic review of randomized controlled trials of adults using patient decision aids to make treatment decisions for chronic musculoskeletal pain in the outpatient setting.
resultsOf 477 records screened, 17 met the inclusion criteria. Chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions included osteoarthritis of the hip, knee, or trapeziometacarpal joint and back pain. Thirteen studies evaluated the use of a decision aid for deciding between surgical and nonsurgical management. The remaining four studies evaluated decision aids for nonsurgical treatment options. Outcomes included decision quality, pain, function, and surgery utilization. The effects of decision aids on decision-making outcomes were mixed. Comparing decision aids with usual care, all five studies that examined knowledge scores found improvement in patient knowledge. None of the four studies that evaluated satisfaction with the decision-making process found a difference with use of a decision aid. There was limited and inconsistent data on other decision-related outcomes. Of the eight studies that evaluated surgery utilization, seven found no difference in surgery rates with use of a decision aid. Five studies made comparisons between different types of decision aids, and there was no clearly superior format.
conclusionsDecision aids may improve patients' knowledge about treatment options for chronic musculoskeletal pain but largely did not impact other outcomes. Future efforts should focus on improving the effectiveness of decision aids and incorporating nonpharmacologic and nonsurgical management options.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.