Aided and Unaided DCS-16 DATA

Background: The Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS) evaluates the decisional conflict patients experience during their healthcare-related decision-making process. There are various versions of the decisional conflict scale, of which DCS-16 was originally recommended and put to use. It analyses the patient treatment choice process on five subscales, hence the study aimed to assess the influence of patient decision aid on patients seeking prosthodontic care for partial dentures through the decisional conflict scale. Methods: All patients were randomly allocated into aided and unaided consultation groups, patients seeking partial denture services were recruited from the college out-patient. Results: The mean decisional conflict scale score for the aided and unaided groups was 8(±6.4) and 20.6(±15.9) respectively. The age of the patient was significantly associated with response to a question in the uncertainty sub-scale, in the aided category, the younger age group (20-40 years) was significantly (P=0.00) less likely to feel sure about their decision on treatment option compared to the elderly age group (41-60 years),[OR -17.8, CI 1.47-2.28]. Conclusion: The present study revealed a significant association between decision-making among partial denture-seeking patients and their age, along with a substantial difference in decisional conflict between patients counseled using a standardized aid and unaided patients.