Decision-Making Preferences Among Older Hispanics Participating in a Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Screening Program

Shared decision making has been shown to improve patients experience and satisfaction with care within the health care setting but it is not clear that all patients want to play an active role in health care decisions. The aim of this study is to describe general decision control preferences among a predominantly Spanish speaking Hispanic population. This is a cross-sectional study using the Control Preference Scale to assess decision-making preference. A total of 780 subjects completed the survey (response rate 89.9%). The majority preferred a collaborative role (53.3%) compared to a passive (26.4%) or active role (20.3%). We observed that individuals who were married or living with a partner were more likely to prefer an active or collaborative role than their unmarried counterparts (RRR 1.78 P value 0.017; RRR 1.56 p value 0.012). Less acculturated individuals (i.e. more Spanish speaking at home were less likely to prefer an active vs. passive role) (RRR 0.296, P value 0.029). Our predominantly Spanish speaking Hispanic population showed a preference for collaborative versus active or passive roles. There are several demographic factors that are associated with this preference but it remains important to determine individual's preference for decision making in health care settings.