Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41932703›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2026

Development and acceptability of a patient decision aid for people with degenerative cervical myelopathy: an international mixed-methods study.

Andrew R Gamble, David B Anderson, Marnee J McKay, Benjamin Davies, Sophie Macpherson, James Van Gelder, Tammy Hoffmann, Kirsten McCaffery, Samuel X Stevens, Carlo Ammendolia and 13 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

23 authors.

Andrew R GambleSchool of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia andrew.gamble@sydney.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5578-4779
David B AndersonSchool of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Marnee J McKaySchool of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Benjamin DaviesDiscipline of Neurosurgery, Cambridge University Hospital, University of Cambridge, England, UK.
Sophie MacphersonSchool of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
James Van GelderDiscipline of Neurosurgery, Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Tammy HoffmannInstitute for Evidence-Based Healthcare, Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Kirsten McCafferySydney Health Literacy Lab, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2696-5006
Samuel X StevensSchool of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Carlo AmmendoliaDepartment of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Rohil V ChauhanAUT Active Living and Rehabilitation Research Centre, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7244-2305
Carl M ZipserSpinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
Timothy F BoergerJoint Department of Biomedical Engineering, Marquette University and The Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1587-3704
Lindsay A TetreaultDepartment of Neurology, Mass General Brigham, Boston, MA, USA.
Michael G FehlingsDivision of Neurosurgery and Spine Program, University of Toronto and Krembil Neuroscience Centre, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Elanor DustanNottingham University Hospitals, NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK.
Carolyn NugentMyelopathy.org, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Helen HolmgrenMyelopathy.org, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Andreas K DemetriadesEdinburgh Spinal Surgery Outcomes Study Group, Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Infirmary Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2004-9448
Justin M LantzDivision of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Rana DhillonDepartment of Surgery, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Chris G MaherSydney Musculoskeletal Health and Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1628-7857
Joshua R ZadroSchool of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8981-2125

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo develop and user-test a patient decision aid for people diagnosed with degenerative cervical myelopathy and who are considering surgery.

designMixed-methods study describing the development of a patient decision aid.

settingA draft decision aid was developed by a multidisciplinary steering group (including study authors with degenerative cervical myelopathy, health professionals and researchers) informed by the best available evidence, authorship consensus and existing patient decision aids.

participantsPatient-participants and health professional-participants who manage people with degenerative cervical myelopathy were recruited through social media and the steering group's research and practice network. Quantitative questionnaires were used to gather baseline data, descriptive feedback, refine the decision aid and assess its acceptability. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted online to gather feedback on the decision aid and were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

resultsWe conducted 32 interviews: 19 patient-participants and 13 health professional-participants who manage people with degenerative cervical myelopathy (neurosurgeons, neurologists, physiotherapists, orthopaedic surgeons, general practitioners, rehabilitation and pain specialists and consultant occupational physicians and chiropractors). Participants were from 10 countries (Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and USA). Most participants rated the decision aid's acceptability as good-to-excellent and agreed with most aspects of the decision aid (eg, defining degenerative cervical myelopathy, management recommendations, potential benefits and harms, questions to consider asking a health professional).

conclusionOur patient decision aid was rated as an acceptable tool by both health professional-participants who treat degenerative cervical myelopathy and patient-participants with lived experience of degenerative cervical myelopathy. This decision aid can be used by clinicians and people with degenerative cervical myelopathy to help with shared decision making following a diagnosis of degenerative cervical myelopathy. A study testing the potential benefits of this decision aid in a clinical setting is recommended.

Indexed as

Cervical VertebraeDecision Support TechniquesPatient ParticipationSpinal Cord DiseasesAdultAgedFemaleHumansInterviews as TopicMaleMiddle AgedQualitative ResearchSurveys and QuestionnairesNEUROSURGERYOrthopedicsSpine

Identifiers

PMID41932703
PMCPMC13052582

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.